Introduction
This is a puzzle cache. You will need to devote at least half a
day to this once you have reached the vicinity. When planning this,
allow plenty of time to solve the puzzle before looking for the
cache - you do not want to start searching in the sand for this as
the sun is setting. First you will need to work out the true
coordinates of the cache from information at the Arabian Wildlife
Centre which is part of the Sharjah Desert Park and then you will
need to find the cache. This cache also contains the Green Key for
the DT Desert Challenge cache.
If you find this cache please do not publish any help on this
web page.
If you have questions or comments about these instructions then
feel free to contact us through email.
The Arabian Wildlife Centre
The published co-ordinates are that of the Arabian Wildlife
Centre.
This is a fantastic place to visit - we have been there many
times over the years. It is a great day out for all the family in a
“state of the art” wild life centre which fully caters
for wheel chair access. Check out the following links for more
information on the Centre.
Animal
Magic
Saving the
Arabian Leopard
You will have to enter the Centre in order to work out the
co-ordinates of the cache itself.
In June 2011 the entry fee was 15 AED per head. The normal
opening hours for the centre were:
| Sunday |
0900 to 1730 |
| Monday |
0900 to 1730 |
| Tuesday |
CLOSED |
| Wednesday |
0900 to 1730 |
| Thursday |
0900 to 1730 |
| Friday |
1400 to 1730 |
| Saturday |
1100 to 1730 |
These times change during Ramadan. You may wish to call the
Sharjah Desert Park on 06 5311999 to confirm the opening times
before travelling here.
The Puzzle
This is actually more of a quiz than a puzzle. To find the
coordinates for the cache you will need to be able to answer the
following set of questions. Each question, or statement, is looking
for a single digit. Some of the statements below have multiple
digits in the answer – in this case, the digit you are
looking for is marked “x”. For example, a statement
might be “the camel eats xy kg of grass each day”. If
the camel eats 25 kg the digit you are looking for is 2.
There are 14 questions labelled “A” through
“N”, 7 for latitude and 7 for longitude. To check your
answer before you venture off into the sand adding up all 14 of the
digits for latitude and longitude will give you a checksum of 61.
We’ve posted two separate questions for each digit the second
set being a back up for the first. The reason for this is that the
displays in the centre may change over time. We’d love to
have any feedback about this cache to our email address and
especially if any of the questions now cannot be answered.
The primary set of questions is in the table below.
| 1A |
The Nubian Ibex usually has y and rarely x kids. |
|
| 1B |
The Gordon’s Wild cat has a litter of up to x
kittens. |
|
| 1C |
How many grooves does the praying mantis have between its legs
for ultra sound? |
|
| 1D |
The sand cat has a gestation period of xy days. |
|
| 1E |
The Honey Badger gives birth to y to x young. |
|
| 1F |
There are less than yyx individual Arabian leopards in
the wild. |
|
| 1G |
The Ostrich has between yx to yy chicks. |
|
| 1H |
There are yxy,yyy Sacred Baboons in the Asir region of
Saudi Arabia. |
|
| 1I |
The Indian grey mongoose is known to have litters of x
young. |
|
| 1J |
The Indian Crested Porcupine litter is y to x
young. |
|
| 1K |
The Egyptian fruit bat gives birth to x offspring. |
|
| 1L |
y to x weeks after mating the Baby Caspian Terrapin lays
y to y eggs. |
|
| 1M |
Caracal kittens are born after yx days. |
|
| 1N |
The Houbara Bustard incubates x to y eggs. |
|
|
Checksum |
61 |
The backup set of questions is in the table below.
| 2A |
The small-spotted Genet has x to y kittens |
|
| 2B |
The Asiatic Jackal has x to y pups. |
|
| 2C |
The Fat Sand Rat has a litter of between x and y. |
|
| 2D |
The Mountain Gazelle stays in small groups of y to x
individuals. |
|
| 2E |
The Cheesman’s Gerbil tunnel system has y to x
entrances. |
|
| 2F |
The Arabian Oryx herds up to yxy. |
|
| 2G |
The carpet viper lays between y and x eggs. |
|
| 2H |
The long eared hedgehog burrows no deeper than xyy
mm. |
|
| 2I |
The Baluchistan Gerbil gestation period is yx days. |
|
| 2J |
The Desert Eagle Owl lays between y and x eggs. |
|
| 2K |
The striped hyena has x to y cubs. |
|
| 2L |
The horned viper lays clutches of x to yy eggs. |
|
| 2M |
The presence of the Blanford’s fox in the UAE was
confirmed in yyxy. |
|
| 2N |
The Red Fox vixen has x to y cubs in early spring. |
|
|
Checksum |
61 |
When you have answers for all of the questions you will be able
to find the cache which is located at:
North AB° CD.EFG’
East HI° JK.LMN’
The Cache
The cache itself is within two kilometres of the Arabian
Wildlife Centre. You will need to drive to it. It is hidden under a
bush in the sand. The closest tarmac road is less than 200m from
the cache but, with care, you may be able to get a two wheel drive
car much closer, if you pick the right dirt tracks. Do not attempt
to drive a two wheel drive car on to the sand – you will get
stuck for sure. It is straight forward for a 4x4 assuming you are
used to sand driving. If you park on the tarmac and walk across the
sands make sure that you wear appropriate foot wear and a hat, have
sun screen protection on, and bring a bottle of water with you.
The cache is well hidden in a hole under the western side of the
bush which can be found at the co-ordinates you have just worked
out. It is covered with some loose sand and then two sand coloured
rocks. You may need to use a narrow bladed shovel to remove the
loose sand. Be careful when searching for this –
you’ve just seen and read about the Arabian wildlife that
could also be hiding here!
The DT Desert Challenge
This cache (Animal Instincts) is the Green Key for the
Desert Challenge (GC13B15). You should find a bunch of green
key fobs with the key written on them – please take one and
leave the rest for future finders. If all of the key fobs have gone
you will be able to find the key written on the cache box itself as
well as in the log book.
If you find the key please do not publish it on this web
page.
Finder’s Podium
| FTF |
The CraigEnders |
9th June 2007 |
| Second |
US-A-RABIA |
15th June 2007 |
| Joint Third |
org, Liveonce, GeoCRAT |
6th July 2007 |
Latest Update
This page was last edited on 24 June 2011.