Silly Spinytail Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Large Pill Bottle. West side of Osprey
trail.
This cache can be found in the Bear Cut Preserve located in Crandon
Park on Key Biscayne. It is a camo'd lock n lock. There is a parking fee to park a car at Crandon Park. Park hours are 8 a.m. to
sunset.
The cache is named after the Spinytail Iguana, Ctenosaura similis,
which can be found in abundance on Key Biscayne. They are named
after their spiny tail. It is ringed with special scales that are
spiny, and it makes for a great weapon. Spiny Tail Iguanas also
have long sharp teeth and nails. The Spiny-tailed iguanas tend to
be nasty and not tameable like their bigger, green iguana (Iguana
iguana) cousins. Juveniles are mostly green, with their adult
coloring coming on during their first year. The adult ground color
is dark brown-to-gray or black, depending upon the species or
subspecies. Most have black mottling on their back. The belly is
usually an off- or dirty white.
The spinytail iguana is a non-native, exotic reptile species in
Florida, with a population confirmed breeding and self-sustaining
for more than 10 years. This species is mostly herbivorous but will
feed opportunistically on small vertebrates, such as fishes,
rodents, eggs and nestlings of birds, and hatchling sea turtles. In
Florida, it may pose a threat to eggs and nestlings of shorebirds.
This species is native to both drainages of southern Mexico and has
established populations in Dade, Lee, and Charlotte counties in
Florida. It is difficult to distinguish this species from the
Mexican spinytail iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata), but Ctenosaura
similis has 0-2 scales separating the short crest along the back
and tail, 2 complete rows of intercalary scales between the whorls
of enlarged scales on the tail, and dark dorsal crossbands. Adult
males may reach nearly 1.2 m (4 ft) in length. These primarily
terrestrial lizards are extremely wary and typically dash to their
burrows, although they will climb agilely if they cannot reach
their burrows.
The cache is along the Osprey Beach Trail, which is a 0.6 mile
trail (each way) that begins at the Nature Center. It provides an
excellent walk parallel with the dunes and shoreline.
Come and explore the Bear Cut Preserve and visit the Biscayne
Nature Center. To get to the Bear Cut Preserve, take Rickenbacker
Causeway to Key Biscayne and enter Crandon Park at the North Beach
entrance. For more information about programs at the Biscayne
Nature Center call 305-361-6767 or visit the website at
http://www.biscaynenaturecenter.org/
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Trg ybj naq penjy(vfu) va beqre gb teno gur pbagnvare