Tourist cautioned about potentially causing 'world-changing' chaos after leaving Cheetos in the largest cave in the US

Officials reported that the discarded food created an ideal environment for mold growth, affecting wildlife

A New Mexico national park shared an online warning after a visitor left a Cheetos packet on a trail, suggesting it could have led to significant disruption.

The Carlsbad Caverns National Park, located in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico, is recognized as a natural marvel.

With over 119 caves and deep rocky canyons, this hiker’s haven is also home to desert wildlife, including cougars, bats, and cave swallows.

Last year, the park’s Facebook account managers issued a reminder to tourists planning to visit the cave, urging them to take their trash with them.

Failure to do so could seriously harm the animals that have inhabited the area for many years.

On September 6, 2024, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park Facebook page released a statement after a chip packet was dropped by an explorer in the area known as the ‘Big Room’.

The Carlsbad Caverns National Park has issued a serious warning to anyone considering dumping their trash in the ancient caves (Carlsbad Caverns National Park/Facebook).

This is the largest cave chamber by volume in North America, with the vast limestone chamber measuring nearly 4,000 ft long, 62 ft wide, and 255 ft high.

In the post, the page described how everyone and everything on Earth shares the same air, and even the smallest actions can have significant ripple effects.

The warning began: “Here at Carlsbad Caverns, we appreciate that we can accommodate thousands of visitors in the cave each day. Incidental impacts can be challenging or impossible to avoid. For example, every step a person takes into the cave leaves a faint trail of lint.

“Other impacts are entirely preventable. Like a full snack bag dropped off-trail in the Big Room. To the owner of the snack bag, the impact might seem incidental.

But to the cave's ecosystem, it has a significant impact.”

They explained how the processed corn, softened by the humidity of the Big Room, created the ideal environment for microbial life and fungi to flourish.

Insects such as cave crickets, mites, spiders, and flies reportedly began to form a temporary food web, spreading nutrients to the surrounding cave and formations.

“Molds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die, and emit odors. And the cycle continues,” the post added.

"From a human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem insignificant, but to the cave's life, it can be transformative.

The chips apparently created the 'ideal environment' for fungi and microbial life to flourish (Carlsbad Caverns National Park/Facebook)

“Regardless of size, we all leave an impact wherever we go. Let's strive to leave the world better than we found it.”

Although the individual responsible was not identified, the national park reported that its rangers managed to clear the ‘foreign debris’ from the cave surfaces, thereby safeguarding the ecosystem.

Consider this a reminder for your next cave exploration; hold onto your snacks tightly, or perhaps avoid the chips until you're done exploring.

If you can resist them for that long, of course.