A Career in a Cave

Palaeo Jam

The Naracoorte Caves in South Australia are a World Heritage fossil site whose stories are many and varied. Part of the story of the Caves is the story of the people who work there, do their research there, or in the case of Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills, occasionally record podcasts and sing songs there. In another fascinating episode, recorded as part of National Science Week, we explore the connection of several different people to the Naracoorte Caves, and how what the Caves has to offer has been central to their developing careers.

You can find host Michael Mills on Twitter at @heapsgood https://twitter.com/Heapsgood. You can find his alter ego, Professor Flint, along with songs inspired by the creatures of the Naracoorte Caves at… https://linktr.ee/ProfessorFlint

For information on visiting the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia, head to… https://www.naracoortecaves.sa.gov.au/

Nicola Bail is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide studying the population dynamics of Southern Bent-wing Bats) in order to understand the subspecies’ decline, population structure and overall state of the South Australian population.

You can find on on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NicolaBail

Follow this link for a Cosmos article about her research

https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/pregnant-pause-researcher-ultrasounds-tiny-bats-in-amazing-breeding-study/

Nerita Turner is also a PhD Candidate at the University of Adelaide. Her research focuses on the modes of accumulation of large animal remains in caves, with a particular focus on fossil sites within the Naracoorte Caves region.

You can find Nerita on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nerita_turner

Check out the following article, by Nerita and Dr Elizabeth Reed…

“Using historical research to constrain the provenance and age of the first recorded collection of extinct Pleistocene large mammal fossils from the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M7JARRBWBXBWDCFDGIIY/full?target=10.1080/03721426.2023.2188442

Georgia Blows is Site Interpreter at the Naracoorte Caves, and is passionate about all things wildlife and natural history. Georgia is one of the youngest staff at the Naracoorte Caves, and got the position fresh from Naracoorte High School, after a work a work experience placement convinced both her, and most likely Caves management, that Georgia and the Caves were a perfect fit.