Bat caves smelled like bats. In the darkness of the caves in a cave complex west of Bangkok, Thais did their work with lanterns on their heads and hands.
Pilgrims in the temple where the caves are located prayed for small Buddha statues in one of them. The expression of the sculpted figures showed no reaction to the “plip-plop” of bat droppings that fell on his shoulders.
Bat dung collectors, also known as guano, scraped off the material to sell as fertilizer and carried sacks of it through an obstacle course made of stalactites and stalagmites.
Medical researchers, overseen by one of the world’s top bat virologists, captured animals to test for traces of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Scientists believe the disease originated in bats.
In front of the caves, the abbot of the Buddhist temple, known as the “Temple of Hundreds of Millions of Bats”, used a…
