Cheetos Bag Disrupts Carlsbad Caverns Ecosystem

A visitor dropped a bag of Cheetos in Carlsbad Caverns’ Big Room in summer 2023, where the cave’s near-saturated humidity softened the processed corn and helped fungi and microbes grow. The snack drew cave crickets, mites, spiders and flies, creating a temporary food web and spreading mould and nutrients onto nearby surfaces in an ecosystem where food is scarce. Rangers removed the remains and used a toothbrush to clean the mould, a task that took about 20 minutes. The incident, which resurfaced online, illustrates how even small amounts of litter can disrupt fragile cave environments.