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Shark Week -- Nurse Shark Mystery Cache

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

Size: Size:   small (small)

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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 41.BAF, W121 08.DEC

 

Nurse Shark

 

The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is an elasmobranch fish within the family Ginglymostomatidae. Nurse sharks are a typically inshore bottom-dwelling species. Juveniles are mostly found on the bottom of shallow coral reefs, seagrass flats, and around mangrove islands, whereas older individuals typically reside in and around deeper reefs and rocky areas, where they tend to seek shelter in crevices and under ledges during the day and leave their shelter at night to feed on the seabed in shallower areas.

Nurse sharks are an important species for shark research (predominantly in physiology). They are robust and able to tolerate capture, handling, and tagging extremely well.  As inoffensive as nurse sharks may appear, they are ranked fourth in documented shark bites on humans, likely due to incautious behavior by divers on account of the nurse shark's slow, sedentary nature.

 

A. What year was the nurse shark classified?

B. How many dorsal fins does a nurse shark have? +5

C. What is maximum documented length (feet, first digit)?

D. What is the rank of the nurse shark in documented shark bites on humans?

E. What is the litter size of a nurse shark (first digit)? +1

F. What is the gestation period of a nurse shark?


You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Chmmyr: JVXV; Uvqr: Ybt

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)