Woburn Animal Series - 9) Elephant
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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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 Elephant" is a well stocked Ammo can.
We won this ammo can (well stocked) at the Cunning Christmas Event in Newbury, Berkshire last Christmas. Many thanks to the West Viewers for donating it.
Please be careful with small children or pets as there is a temporary lake when this cache was set in February.
Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. An elephant may live as long as 70 years, sometimes longer.
Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence.
Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire life. After one year the tusks are permanent, but the molars are replaced six times in an average elephant's lifetime. The teeth do not emerge from the jaws vertically like with human teeth. Instead, they have a horizontal progression, like a conveyor belt. New teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where they wear down with use and the remains fall out. When an elephant becomes very old, the last set of teeth is worn to stumps, and it must rely on softer foods to chew. Very elderly elephants often spend their last years exclusively in marshy areas where they can feed on soft wet grasses. Eventually, when the last teeth fall out, the elephant will be unable to eat and will die of starvation.
Elephants are increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals. The elephant is now a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre YNETR cvyr bs snyyra oenapurf!