We cannot say that Velika Pasica, which is located behind the village of Gornji Ig, on the way towards Krim, is a beautiful cave. People have been going into the cave since the middle of the 19th century. The evidence lies in the signatures left behind by visitors on the charred cave walls and the dripstones which are not there anymore, but have become souvenirs in the houses of many. However, from a biological standpoint, the cave is exquisite and special.
A rich habitat of animal species
The Velika Pasica Cave is known as a rich habitat of other animal life forms. On the basis of samples taken out of the cave, 12 new species have been identified and described. Altogether, 22 new water and 9 new land cave species have been counted. According to the number of discovered species the cave places ninth in the world. Another 4 Slovenian caves place ahead of it. Number one on the list is the Postojna cave system. Uni. Prof., PhD Anton Brancelj, who contributed to the descriptions of some of the new species, says that if we would take into account the length of the cave and the number of new species, it would rank at number one in the world: "At every 10 meters of the cave there is a new species."
The temperature in the cave is permanent, between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius. The highest temperatures are recorded in the winter, while the lowest in the summer. The thickness of the ceiling is between five and seven meters - in comparison the ceiling at the Postojna Cave is between 60 and 70 meters thick. Due to the explorations and equipment in use, the entrance to the cave is closed for people. However, animals are able to go in and out. There are two kinds of bats currently hibernating in the cave - the horseshoe and lesser horseshoe bats, there are moths - the triphosa dubitata (jamski pedic) and the herald (zobati vrbovček), as well as cave locusts. At one point cave bears also used to dwell in there.