Woburn Animal Series - 8) Giraffe
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This series of caches have been set as a dedication to the nearby Woburn Safari Park. The series consists of 15 caches on an approximately 3 1/2 mile circular walk. The terrain can be muddy, especially after rain, although a good pair of walking boots should not prevent you from completing the series. The caches range from a nano to an ammo can and all sizes in between.
We have tried to make these caches interesting for children. You may want to print out each cache page and read them out as you walk round!
There is no ivy although there might be prickles!
Woburn Safari Park is part of the Woburn Estate, which has belonged to the Dukes of Bedford for over 450 years. The Safari Park was created by the 13th Duke of Bedford in 1970 and covers 300 acres.
Being a Safari Park, visitors can drive round, allowing them to be just inches from rhinos, tigers and lions (not to mention monkeys!)
The Safari Park is also the home of some very rare species and is well known for it's breeding programmes. In 1985, the Duke sent 50 Pere David deer, descended from animals originally brought to the Park by the 11th Duke, to be introduced to the Imperial Park in Beijing. During the Boxer Rebellion all the Pere David Deer were killed. The species was saved from extinction and returned to its native homeland after it had been extinct in the wild for over 100 years.
In 1901, the 11th Duke also introduced the Przewalski Horse, which actually saved it from extinction. In 2007, two foals were born. Amongst others born in 2007 were endangered bongo antelopes, baby squirrel monkeys, 2 rare Rothschild giraffes and a Yellow Asian pond turtle, hatchling which is the first time this critically endangered turtle has bred in Europe.
As you are going around these caches, you are likely to bump into some Muntjac Deer. These deer are not indigenous to the UK, being from South East Asia and India. They escaped from the Woburn Estate not long after introduction. Originally, they only lived within a 20 mile radius of Woburn, however, today they appear all along the M4 corridor and have been seen as far away as Wales. These are very small deer, often less than 2 foot tall, and are frightened very easily. Unless the wind is strong, they will pick up your scent often before you spot them. They can often be mistaken for dogs or even hares (and do the same sort of damage as hares and rabbits). They are particularly prevalent around the beginning of the year and throughout spring.
"The Giraffe" is a small ROUND box.
The Rothschild Giraffe is named after the founder of the Tring Zoological Museum, Lord Walter Rothschild. It is also known as the Baringo Giraffe, after the Lake Baringo area of Kenya, or as the Ugandan Giraffe. All of these giraffes living in the wild can be found in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda. It is the second most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members. There are very few locations where the Rothschild Giraffe can be seen in the wild, with notable spots being Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya and Murchison Falls National Park in Northern Uganda. There are various captive breeding programmes in place - most notably at The Giraffe Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, and at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, England - which aim to expand the genetic gene-pool in the wild population of the Rothschild Giraffe.
Rothschild Giraffes are easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most obvious visible sign is in the colouring of the coat, or pelt. In addition, the Rothschild Giraffe displays no markings on the lower leg, giving the impression that it is wearing white stockings.
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UPDATE: I HAVE NOW REPLACED THE ORIGINAL CONTAINER WITH A SMALL ROUND ONE! IT HAS MORE CAMO ON IT TOO (No Cameo I'm afraid - all the caches in my series are unknown actors with major roles. No famous people with walk-on parts here!)
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
gvgyr! fvk sbbg hc va gur gerr