A bag of Cheetos left by a visitor at Carlsbad Caverns National Park has had a significant impact on the cave’s ecosystem, according to the National Park Service (NPS). The processed corn in the snack was softened by the cave’s humidity, creating an environment conducive to microbial life and fungi. This attracted cave crickets, mites, spiders, and flies, which then spread the mold to nearby surfaces.
The bag was found off-trail in the Big Room, a popular route in the caverns.
“At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world-changing,” an NPS official wrote on Facebook.
Rangers spent twenty minutes carefully removing the foreign detritus and molds from the cave surfaces.
The park’s rules state that the only food that can be consumed in the caves is unflavored water. Park staff have urged visitors to be mindful of their activities to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“Incidental impacts can be difficult or impossible to prevent… But to the ecosystem of the cave it had a huge impact,” the NPS post read.
The incident serves as a reminder of the potential impact of human actions on natural environments. The NPS encourages visitors to adhere to the Leave No Trace principle to prevent issues like this from occurring in America’s national parks.
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