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. 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 44.ABC, W121 05.DEF

Pacific Sleeper Shark

The Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) is a sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found in the North Pacific on continental shelves and slopes in Arctic and temperate waters between latitudes 70°N and 22°N. Records from southern oceans are likely misidentifications of relatives.

Pacific sleeper sharks, which are thought to be both predators and scavengers, can glide through the water with little body movement and little hydrodynamic noise, making them successful stealth predators. They feed by means of suction and cutting of their prey. They have large mouths that can inhale prey and their teeth cut up any pieces that are too large to swallow. They show a characteristic rolling motion of the head when feeding. Only in Alaska has the shark's diet been studied - most sharks' stomachs contain remains of giant Pacific octopus. They are also known to feed on bottom-dwelling teleost fishes, as well as soles, flounders, Alaska pollock, rockfishes, shrimps, hermit crabs, and even marine snails. Larger Pacific sleeper sharks are also found to feed on fast-swimming prey such as squids, Pacific salmon, and harbor porpoises. The diet of the Pacific sleeper shark seems to broaden as they increase in size. For example, a 3.7-m female shark found off Trinidad, California was found to have fed mostly on giant squid. Sleeper sharks found in Alaskan waters from 2 to 3 m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) seem to feed mostly on flounder, pollock, and cephalopods, while sleeper sharks 3.3 to 4.25 m (10.8 to 13.9 ft) long seem to consume teleosts and cephalopods, as well as marine mammals. A recent study in the Gulf of Alaska suggests that sleeper sharks may prey on juvenile Steller sea lions.

A.   How many pups is the litter size of a Pacific Sleeper shark thought to be?

B.  The average length of a Pacific Sleeper shark at maturity (second digit, meters)?

C.  In what year was a Pacific Sleeper shark filmed under an active volcano near the Solomon Islands?

D.  The Pacific Sleeper shark will generally max out at what weight (second digit, kg)?

E.  How deep will a Pacific Sleeper shark dive (first digit, feet)?

F.  How big is the Pacific Sleeper shark at birth (first digit, feet)?

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