Vrtare Male
{{Short description|Cave in Croatia with remnants of prehistoric animals}}
{{Infobox cave
| name = Vrtare Male
| other_name = Jama Vrtare male
| photo = Kralješak slona 8.JPG
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| photo_caption = Vertebra of a mammoth found in Vrtare Male
| map = Croatia
| map_width =
| map_caption = Location of Vrtare Male cave in Croatia
| map_alt = Location of Vrtare Male cave in Croatia
| location = Dramalj, Croatia
| coordinates = {{coord|45|11|55|N|14|39|31|E|region:HR-08|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
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| depth = {{convert|39|m}}
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Vrtare Male is a pit cave located near Dramalj, a seaside village in Croatia. Its depth is believed to be {{convert|39|m}}, with around {{convert|10|m}} submerged. It was first explored in 1966 by the Mountaineering Society Velebit.{{cite web|last1=Japundžić|first1=Dražen|title=Lion's Pit|url=http://www.mgc.hr/sites/default/files/files/katalog%20Lavlja%20jama_engleski.pdf|publisher=Crikvenica City Museum|access-date=9 August 2015}} In 1996, Dragan Pelić, a photographer and spelaeologist from nearby Crikvenica, descended into the cave and found a rare Decapoda specimen, which was confirmed by Croatian spelaeologist Branko Jalžić.{{cite web|title=Top 10 prirodnih atrakcija Kvarnera - Dom dobrih dupina i bjeloglavih supova|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/top-10-prirodnih-atrakcija-kvarnera---dom-dobrih-dupina-i-bjeloglavih-supova/844076/|publisher=Jutarnji list|access-date=9 August 2015|date=4 July 2010}} This prompted further cave expeditions, starting in 2005, and the establishment of a protected area around Vrtare Male.{{cite web|title=Jama Vrtare male u Dramlju kod Crikvenice preventivno zaštićena|url=http://www.ju-priroda.hr/novosti.asp?id=novosti/45-jama-vrtare.html|publisher=Public Institution Priroda, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|access-date=9 August 2015}}
The cave is home to the freshwater cave prawn (Troglocaris anophthalmus), endemic to Dinaric karst. Vrtare Male is part of the National Ecological Network of Croatia. It is registered under the code HR3000257, and potential for inclusion in Natura 2000.{{cite web|title=Jama Vrtare male|url=http://www.ju-priroda.hr/3zasticeni/en-3jama-vrtare.html|publisher=Public Institution Priroda, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|access-date=9 August 2015}} In 2009, it was proclaimed a geological-palaeontological natural monument. The area under protection covers around {{convert|310|m2}}.{{cite web|title=Geološko-paleontološki spomenik prirode - Jame Vrtare male (preventivna zaštita)|url=http://www.ju-priroda.hr/3zasticeni/3jama-vrtare.html|publisher=Public Institution Priroda, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|access-date=9 August 2015}}
Expeditions and exhibitions
In 2007, Croatian Natural History Museum organized a palaeontological expedition in Vrtare Male, led by Jalžić, recovering the remains of several specimens of Pleistocene megafauna on the submerged cave floor. The specimens included, among others, a cave lion, one of the largest discovered at the time; a specimen of southern mammoth, a cave bear, a Merck's rhinoceros, a steppe bison and dire wolves, as well as extinct relatives of fallow deer and horses.{{cite web|title=U Dramlju pronađen najveći špiljski lav|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/u-dramlju-pronaden-najveci-spiljski-lav/271094/|publisher=Jutarnji list|access-date=9 August 2015|date=4 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122163511/http://www.jutarnji.hr/u-dramlju-pronaden-najveci-spiljski-lav/271094/|archive-date=22 November 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The animals were exhibited in 2009 and 2010 in the Crikvenica City Museum and the Croatian Natural History Museum.{{cite web|title=Najveći spiljski lav izlazi pred javnost|url=https://www.tportal.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/75478/Najveci-spiljski-lav-izlazi-pred-javnost.html|website=Tportal.hr|access-date=9 August 2015|date=3 July 2010}}{{cite web|title=U Muzeju grada Crikvenice otvorena izložba "Otkriveni svjetovi"|url=http://www.ju-priroda.hr/novosti/51-muzej-crikvenica.html|publisher=Public Institution Priroda, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|access-date=9 August 2015}} Panthera Spelaea, a documentary film about Vrtare Male directed by Marin Leko, accompanied the opening of the exhibition in Crikvenica.{{cite web|title=Muzej grada Crikvenica - Izvješće 2009.|url=https://www.mdc.hr/UserFiles/Image/izdavastvo/izvjesca_hr/2009/MG%20Crikvenice.pdf|publisher=Museum Documentation Centre of Croatia|access-date=9 August 2015}}
Another expedition to Vrtare Male, as well as neighbouring caves Vrtare Vele and Vrtare Nove, was organized in July 2011. A total of 184 Pleistocene fossils were collected and stored by the Crikvenica City Museum.{{cite web|title=Izjveštaj o radu djelatnika Hrvatskog prirodoslovnog muzeja za 2011.|url=https://www.mdc.hr/UserFiles/Image/izdavastvo/izvjesca_zg/2011/HPrirodoslovniM_2011.pdf|publisher=Museum Documentation Centre of Croatia|access-date=9 August 2015|pages=3, 4|language=hr|date=March 2012}} The neighbouring caves are thought to have been originally part of a bigger cave system, which was fractioned in a catastrophe during the Pleistocene. Similarly, the cave entrance is thought to have been larger than today, as large animals have been found in the cave.
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Fossils from Vrtare male cave in Dramalj}}
- [http://www.mgc.hr/sites/default/files/files/katalog%20Lavlja%20jama_engleski.pdf Catalogue Lion's Pit], from the exhibition of fossils in Croatian Natural History Museum and Crikvenica City Museum
Category:Landforms of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
Category:Karst formations of Croatia
Category:Tourist attractions in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County