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Leap Day Series: Kangaroo Rats in KP Traditional Cache

Hidden : 2/29/2024
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:


It's LEAP DAY!!!

 

With the myriad of animals and the plethora of insects that LEAP, I thought I would deviate from the iconic tree frog that is often associated with LEAP year and focus on the little known KANGAROO RAT.  

The Kangaroo Rat is a small, mostly nocturnal rodent, that is native to arid areas North America, such as Baja California, and North Central Texas,  They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but have developed this bipedal mode of locomotion.

They are four or five-toed rodents with big hind legs, small front legs, and relatively large heads.  Adults typically weigh 2.5-6 oz.  The tails of the kangaroo rats are no longer than both their bodies and their heads.  They have fur lined cheek pouches, which are used for storing food.  The coloration of these rodents vary from cinnamon buff to dark gray.

Kangaroo rats LEAP a distance of an enormous 7-9 feet at speeds up to 10 feet per second or 6 mph.  They can quickly change direction between jumps, and use a "move-freeze" mode when needed, to minimize energy cost and prediction risk.  This makes them less conspicuous to norturnal predators.  

 

Cache is a camo'd pill bottle. This one should be a super quick cache and dash.  Happy caching....now LEAP to it

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Pbzr ba….qb lbh ernyyl arrq n uvag….bx….Vgf n Ynzc cbfg pnpur. Yvsg hc gur fxveg

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)