Skip to content

Shark Week -- Whale Shark Mystery Cache

Hidden : 8/1/2019
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:


Welcome to Shark Week!! Every year since 1988, the Discovery Channel has devoted a week each summer to sharks. What started as an attempt to educate the public that there was more to sharks than just what they saw in Jaws has since become a cultural phenomenon. InspectorCacheIt227 got into Shark Week about 4 years ago and we regularly record about 60 hours worth of shows each year on our DVR. Last year while watching Shark Week, EmmaBoo227 started to write the names of sharks on log sheets she created and stuck them in a handful of containers we had won at a raffle and the idea for a shark week series was born.

But where to hide a shark week series? In the ocean would be ideal, but not realistic. But we have a body of water nearby. And while the caches can’t really be hidden in the lake, we could make them all puzzles and hide the caches around the lake. So that’s what we did. We hope you enjoy learning a little about some sharks you have probably heard of and learning a little more about some sharks you have probably never heard of.

These hides are all placed around Folsom Lake. Care was taken to avoid poison oak as much as possible, but it is still out there. Also beware off all the other hazards of the lake including, but not limited to, ticks, snakes, other animals, heat and uneven footing.

Cache is located at N38 42.FAB, W121 10.CED

 

Whale Shark

 

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae.

The whale shark is found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in water below 21 °C (70 °F). Modeling suggests a lifespan of about 70 years, and while measurements have proven difficult, estimates from field data suggest they may live as long as 130 years. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes, and pose no threat to humans.

The name "whale shark" refers to the fish's size, being as large as some species of whales, and also to its being a filter feeder like baleen whales.

 

A. How many rows of teeth does a whale shark have (first digit)?

B. How thick can a whale sharks skin become (cm)? -2

C. What is the deepest recorded dive of a whale shark (meters or feet, third digit)?

D. What is the upper range of a whale shark pup (inches)?

E. In what year was the first whale shark mating filmed? -1

F. When was the complete and annotated genome of the whale shark published?


You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Chmmyr: JVXV Uvqr: Unatre

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)