What does Smithsonian's National Zoo do? We Save Species. What do geocachers do while visiting the zoo? We FIND species. yoursunny spent two days visiting the zoo this month, and spent plenty of time searching for animals in their exhibits. I found them, can you?
Cache is not at posted coordinates. If you want, you can get on Metrorail from posted coordinates, visit the zoo in DC, solve the mystery on the train, and come back to find the cache.
The puzzle can be solved by looking at these pictures. It does not need Internet searching or computer programming, and nothing is hidden in the metadata. For those who prefer mathematics, an algorithm to solve for each digit is provided after the pictures.
North
West
Algorithm for Each Digit
- Let S be the set of animals on the picture.
- Remove homo sapiens and small insects from S.
- If S is empty, the digit is
0; abort these steps.
- Divide the picture evenly into three rows and three columns, numbered in row-major order from 1 to 9.
- Let Ai be the area within cell i occupied by animals in S.
- Find i such that Ai > Aj for i ≠ j. The digit is i.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
Cache container is a baby-nano with tiny log sheet. A pair of tweezers is mandatory for log retrieval. To conserve space, please omit the date and write the first two letters of your username only.