<P> Over 900 can be identified as animals, and 605 of these have been precisely identified . Out of these images, there are 364 paintings of equines as well as 90 paintings of stags . Also represented are cattle and bison, each representing 4 to 5% of the images . A smattering of other images include seven felines, a bird, a bear, a rhinoceros, and a human . There are no images of reindeer, even though that was the principal source of food for the artists . Geometric images have also been found on the walls . </P> <P> The most famous section of the cave is The Hall of the Bulls where bulls, equines, and stags are depicted . The four black bulls, or aurochs, are the dominant figures among the 36 animals represented here . One of the bulls is 5.2 metres (17 ft) long, the largest animal discovered so far in cave art . Additionally, the bulls appear to be in motion . </P> <P> A painting referred to as "The Crossed Bison", found in the chamber called the Nave, is often submitted as an example of the skill of the Paleolithic cave painters . The crossed hind legs create the illusion that one bison is closer to the viewer than the other . This visual depth in the scene demonstrates a primitive form of perspective which was particularly advanced for the time . </P> <P> Some anthropologists and art historians theorize that the paintings could be an account of past hunting success, or could represent a mystical ritual in order to improve future hunting endeavors . This latter theory is supported by the overlapping images of one group of animals in the same cave - location as another group of animals, suggesting that one area of the cave was more successful for predicting a plentiful hunting excursion . </P>

In what year did the french minister of culture close the caves to the public