WEBVTT

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- Hey, there's the group of cavers.

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- Dude, let's do it.

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I'm Amtchat Edwards with
the U.S. Forest Service.

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This is my good friend John,

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John the Phenomenon.

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We learned a ton today with

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the cave ecologist and a geologist,

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and now we kind of want
to hang out with you guys.

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Is that cool?

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- Sure.

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I'm taking this group of people on

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the adventure of their life.

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It looks like you guys have
all the proper safety equipment

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so follow me.

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- Sweet.

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- I've been a guide here
for around five years

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and people love coming
underground to crawl, climb,

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and see a world that is so
different from the surface.

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Our cave here at Blanchard Springs,

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as well as many caves around the world,

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offer a fun way to get out and explore.

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There are even clubs called grottos

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where you can learn more about
how to explore caves safely

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and with conservation in mind.

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Alright guys, let's go explore
some more passage this way.

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- Actually I think I see
Fernando and Gretchen over there,

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we've really got to catch
back up with our group.

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- Alright, thanks for coming.

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- This has been a ton
of fun, thank you Zoey.

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- See you.

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- Bye now.
- Bye.

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- Hey guys.

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- Hey.

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- That was fun.

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- It was so cool.

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I wanted to go up every passage.

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- Well that's why we enjoy mapping.

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We document every little
passage to see where it goes.

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You never know where it might take you.

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- And who knows,

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we might be in the
longest cave in the world.

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- We learned that caves exist

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in many places around the world

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and people have always
been interested in them.

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The record of human activity
in caves goes back centuries.

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People have always used caves as pathways,

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protection from the elements,

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and places to live.

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So let's watch this video and see

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how other people view them.

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- [Woman] This is the Unica
River, located in Slovenia,

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a tiny country in the center of Europe.

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We will visit the mysterious
origins of this river

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in a place hidden away where
most people have never seen.

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Today's a special day for these children.

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They're visiting a place

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deep under the surface of the earth,

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Planinska Jama.

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Jama means cave in Slovenian.

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At the entrance of the
cave we see the Unica River

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rushing to the surface over a dam,

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which was once used to power a sawmill

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but now is used by a
hydroelectric power plant.

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Before going inside the visitors
must first unlock the gate,

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which ensures that only people

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that have permission to
visit the cave can go inside.

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This cave is part of an
extensive cave system

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where the science of
cave biology was born.

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It is here that the children's search

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for cave animals begins.

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The first stop is at a giant funnel

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used in the past to study cave formation.

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Next, the children notice bats.

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Bats leave their
droppings or guano behind,

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which is an important food
source for cave critters

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such as these millipedes.

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Cave animals are tiny and need
to be searched for carefully.

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The children are observing the remains

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of a slender-necked beetle,

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the first cave animal in the world

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to be scientifically described.

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Cave animals have special characteristics.

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They lack body pigmentation and eyes,

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but instead have elongated
legs and antennae

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to sense their environment.

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The Postojna-Planina cave
system holds the world record

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for the highest number
of different cave species

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found in it.

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In the waters the children
found cave crustaceans.

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But the most famous animal in
the cave river is the proteus,

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an amphibian which can only be found

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in this part of the world.

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The cave also shows
sign of human presence.

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In the first part of the 20th century

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the military built many
pathways through the cave,

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including this tunnel through solid rock.

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Before we end our visit of Planinska Jama

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we can see where the Unica River begins

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at the unique underground confluence

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of the Rak and Pivka rivers.

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We leave you with one last
extraordinary cave experience,

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true darkness.