Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Question: Where is Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
Answer: Sauta Cave NWR is located just above the Sauty Creek embayment
on TVA's
Guntersville Reservoir, 7 miles west of Scottsboro in Jackson County, Alabama.
There is an
entrance gate to the Refuge on the south side of U.S. Highway 72.
Question: Is the cave open
to the public?
Answer: Sauta Cave itself is gated and not open to
the public due to the potential for disturbance of federally endangered
gray bats. Other portions of the
264-acre refuge are open to the public. Persons wishing to visit the cave
may park outside
the Refuge entrance gate and walk in to the cave entrance.
Question: What is there
to see and do at Sauta Cave NWR?
Answer: Hiking, wildlife observation, and wildlife photography
are all activities that are available to the public.
Question: How can I see the bats
emerging from
the cave?
Answer: Sauta Cave NWR serves as a major maternity cave
for gray bats where recent counts
have documented up to 400,000 emerging from the cave. This natural phenomenon
only occurs June -August and lasts for approximately one hour near dusk.
To view bats emerging from the cave, park at the Refuge entrance gate and
walk approximately
100 yards to the cave entrance on your right. A new wildlife viewing platform
is available to watch the emergence. Remember to bring your umbrella.