Schahfk, Seymotjk, and Nkwton — Castlepook Cave. 71 



Period, and inhabited by the animals above alluded to, the climatic conditions 

 in Ireland could not at any time have been unfavourable to life. Large and 

 small mammals, as well as birds, must have abounded in Ireland throughout 

 the Glacial Period, for we find the bones of the Irish Elk, Reindeer, Bear, and 

 many kinds of birds in bogs and marls which are certainly post-glacial in 

 origin. 



One of the most important facts that have been established by the Castle- 

 pook Cave Exploration is the former existence in Ireland of the Spotted 

 Hyaena. It has never been suggested that this animal, which now inhabits 

 central and southern Africa, once lived under arctic conditions. Yet our cave 

 researches prove that the Hyaena devoured the carcases of Eeindeer, and that 

 the Arctic Fox and two kinds of Lemming were contemporaneous with it in 

 Ireland. It has also been shown that the Mammoth and Irish Elk flourished 

 in this country at the same time, and that the climatic conditions were such 

 that they reared their young, and that the latter occasionally fell a prey to 

 the Hyaena. The "Wolf was apparently not plentiful, whereas the Bear 

 probably did not seriously interfere with these large herbivores. 



A few remarks have already been made in the introduction with regard to 

 the history of the present entrance to the cave and its relation to the old 

 entrances. It may be pointed out that owing to its shallowness and want of 

 good drainage the cave probably never was a dry one. It was at all times 

 subject to earth-falls from above. The old entrances must have been on the 

 north side. Xow what Mr. Ussher called the Elephant Hall and the Hyaena 

 Hall, with their adjoining galleries, contained an amazing quantity of bones, 

 those of Eeindeer being by far the most abundant. It is quite evident 

 from the fact that the dung (coprolites) of Hyaenas was met with, and from 

 the number of crushed bone splinters, that these animals had their temporary 

 abode in those halls which lie within fifty to a hundred feet from the present 

 entrance. The Hyaena probably dragged the carcases of the Eeindeer through 

 the existing entrance to these halls, there to devour them at its leisure. 



More abundant than Hyaena bones are the remains of Bears in those same 

 halls. Bears must also have lived there, but, as Mr. Ussher has pointed out, 

 their bones were as a rule lower down in the sand than those of the Hyaena. 

 Hence Bears had probably occupied the cave, and abandoned it before the 

 arrival of the Hyaena. We may assume that for a time the present entrance 

 became blocked by pitfalls, when possibly one of the more westerly entrances, 

 which was somewhat narrower, enabled the Hyaena to gain admission to the 

 cave. For a long time this powerful carnivore inhabited the part of the cave 

 known as " Hyaena Land," which is 400 feet from the entrance. It was there 

 that the remains of very young Mammoths were mosl abundant, ami that 



