Quest for Twilight Enchantment Day 1

September 28, 2008	
==Description==
Welcome to the VFK Twilight Enchantment Epic Quest, Day 1!<BR><BR> 
This is the first day of your epic quest for twilight enchantment!
Ancient and indigenous cultures believe in "shape-shifting." Australian aboriginal elders have the power of shape-shifting and it is fundamental to the dreamtime foundations of their beliefs. With Twilight enchantment, we will be able to "magically" assume the form of animals from birds in the air to creatures below the sea and a wide range of animals in-between. Since October is also Halloween month, we will be finding out about the animals that are most closely associated with Halloween.<BR><BR>
Your reward for completing this first stage of this Epic Quest will be 1,000 credits and your first Twilight Pin, the Wolf Pin!<BR><BR><BR>
===Prizes===
===Questions===
1. Wolves are prominent in oral traditions of many cultures. The Turkic's who are Eurasian people living in western, northern and central Eurasia and include the people of Turkey, revere the wolf. In their Altaic mythology, they consider themselves to be descended from wolves. The legend tells that a female wolf with a sky blue mane adopted an orphaned Turkic baby and also was the mother of a race of half-human half-wolf people which were the ancestors of the Turkic people. It is also said that a gray wolf led the Turkic people out of a legendary place in the Altay Mountains. What is the name of this place?
* Bursa
* Trabzon
* Ergenekon
* Giresun
* Anatolia<BR><BR>
2. An ancient Roman myth tells of the traditional founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus being raised by a wolf. The twins were left in a cradle on the banks of the Tiber River in order to save their lives from their great uncle. The flooded river carried them downstream where a she-wolf found them and adopted them. The she-wolf's name was Lupa. Go to Ned Kelly's room in the Australian Outback and say "Does this river ever flood?"<BR><BR>
3. The wolf is a highly adaptable predator. It can be found in all types of climates, including forests, tundra, deserts and mountains. Depending on the subspecies of wolf, of which there are many, they can reach a height at the shoulder of over three feet and can weigh over 170 pounds. They can reach lengths of up to six and a half feet of which their tail is a quarter of their total length. Compared to male wolves, the females of each wolf species:
* are 20% smaller than the male wolves.
* are 20% larger than the male wolves.
* are the same size as the male wolves.
* can vary in size compared to the males with some being larger and others smaller.<BR><BR>
4. Because the females are smaller, they also appear more "gracile." They are shorter and have narrower faces and muzzles. Their leg fur is smoother and they have smaller shoulders. Go to the dark forest room in the Audubon's Wildlife Adventure game and say "Do you see any wolves in here?"<BR><BR>
5. Wolves are perfectly designed for long distance travel. They can cover miles of ground at their characteristic trotting pace of around six miles an hour. Their paws are ideally adapted for travel over all sorts of terrain. They have relatively large feet for their body size which enables them to walk more efficiently on snow than most of their prey, and their fore feet are larger than their hind feet. Their large feet distribute their weight more evenly over a larger area, which is another characteristic giving them an advantage when hunting on snow. What other feature also helps support them on the snow?
* They have dewclaws on their front legs
* They have darker colored legs
* Their fur is softer on their feet
* They have webbing between their toes.<BR><BR>
6. The gray wolves' feet have some other interesting characteristics. They have bristly hairs on their feet which give them traction on slippery ground. They also have a built in heating system in the way of special blood vessels in the pads of their paws which keep their paws from freezing. They do not have sweat glands on their pads, something that both dogs and coyotes have. Go to the inside of the sheriff's office in the Wild West and say "Sheriff, I saw a bunch of wolves outside of town!"<BR><BR>
7. Wolves' coats are comprised of two types of hair. They have very tough longer hairs called guard hairs which act to protect the wolf from the elements. These guard hairs shed water and dirt. The second type of hair is a soft dense fur called an undercoat which acts to insulate the wolf from cold. During the spring some of the undercoat is shed. What is the term used to refer to a wolf's coat?
* Sheep's clothing
* Pelage
* Overcoat
* Furnia<BR><BR>
8. Wolves come in a variety of colors and although they primarily are in the gray to brown range with lighter colored stomachs, they also are found in black, red and white. The pure colors do not occur in a very high percentage of the population and so they are somewhat unusual. White occurs more often in cold snowy regions and black occurs most often in the Italian wolf population. Wolf pups have a darker coat color and have blue eyes which change to gold or orange when they mature. Go to the Victorian Park and say "Do you have blue eyes?"<BR><BR>
9. Wolves travel most often in packs; however, you can find a solitary or lone wolf. These lone wolves can be old wolves that have been chased out of the pack, or they could just be young wolves looking for new territory. Wolf packs can range in size from just one pair of wolves to a pack of over thirty, however most packs are "nuclear families" with a mother, a father and their offspring and average about eight wolves. How old are wolves when they "leave home" to find their own territory?
* About two years old.
* About a year old.
* They don't usually leave home.
* About five years old.<BR><BR>
10. They say that wolves that leave their birth pack are "dispersed." These dispersals can occur any time of year. Even though young wolves stay at home for a couple of years, they usually get along quite well with their parents. The "Alpha," "Beta" and "Omega" wolf dominance profile of wolves is well known. This is where an Alpha pair of wolves are dominant, followed by a group of secondary wolves called Beta wolves, trailed by the lowliest member of the pack, the Omega wolf. Actually, this hierarchy is not very characteristic of wild wolves. The dominance information comes from studies done on wolves living in captivity. These wolves cannot disperse into the wild when they are mature and therefore strong hierarchies develop in the pack, which doesn't necessarily translate to wild wolf packs. Go to the first room in the English countryside off of Stonehenge and say "I think wolves will love it here!"<BR><BR>
===Answers===
1. Ergenekon
2. Go to Ned Kelly's Hideout and say "Does this river ever flood?"
3. are 20% smaller than the male wolves.
4. Go to the Audubon Dark Forest and say "Do you see any wolves in here?"
5. They have webbing between their toes.
6. Go to the inside of U.S. Marshalls and say "Sheriff, I saw a bunch of wolves outside of town!"
7. Pelage
8. Go to the Victorian Summer Park and say "Do you have blue eyes?"
9. About two years old.
10. Go to the English Countryside - I and say "I think wolves will love it here!"
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