description Kitum Cave Overview
Kitum Cave is a unique lava tube situated within the Kitum Volcanic Valley of Kenya’s Rift Valley. The cave's distinctive walls are saturated with salts, creating an environment that draws large numbers of elephants for mineral consumption. Its formation and isolated location contribute to a specialized ecosystem. Researchers studying African wildlife and geological formations, particularly those investigating bat populations and potential disease vectors, utilize the site.
help Kitum Cave FAQ
Is Kitum Cave really a lava tube?
Kitum Cave lies in the volcanic rocks of Mount Elgon, but it is not generally classified as a conventional lava tube. Water erosion, rock weathering, and centuries of animal activity helped enlarge the cave.
Why do elephants enter Kitum Cave?
Mount Elgon elephants enter Kitum Cave to obtain sodium and other minerals from its salt-rich walls. They use their tusks to loosen rock, then collect and consume the material with their trunks.
Where is Kitum Cave, and can visitors enter it?
Kitum Cave is inside Mount Elgon National Park on the Kenyan side of Mount Elgon. Visitors normally explore it with a Kenya Wildlife Service guide because the cave is dark, uneven, and used by wild animals.
What does Kitum Cave have to do with the Marburg virus?
Two people who had visited the cave, one in 1980 and another in 1987, later developed Marburg virus disease. A scientific expedition investigated Kitum Cave in the 1980s, but it did not establish the cave as the definitive source of those infections.
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