A Day at the Zoo

Question

You find a note on your door when returning home. It tells you to check your email and find the hidden message. Upon inspection, there is a mysterious email in your inbox.

From: [email protected]
A Day at the Zoo

Alice, Bob, and their 12 children went to the zoo, each person having their own favorite animal from the following: Aardvark, Chameleon, Elephant, Hippo, Lion, Llama, Monkey, Ostrich, Otter, Raccoon, Rhino, Tiger, Unicorn, Yak

1. Charley's favorite only needs 3 unique letters
2. Jenny enjoyed the horn
3. Fred is a big fan of birds
4. Victor's favorite starts with an R
5. Derek's and Kyle's share only 2 letters
6. Mary's starts with the same letter as Fred's
7. Heather likes mythical creatures
8. The last letter of Sarah's is the first of Natasha's
9. Dad's favorite starts the same as Charley's
10. Arthur's has 2 letters that no others have
11. Peggy's was swimming in the water
12. Sarah does not like Monkeys
13. Kyle's shares 3 letters with his name
14. Jenny's has 2 vowels

Find the hidden message.

Answer 1

Deductions

1. Charley's favorite only needs 3 unique letters

Must be the Llama or the Yak. Putting this together with ...

9. Dad's favorite starts the same as Charley's

... it must be that Charley's favourite is the Llama and Bob's is the Lion.

3. Fred is a big fan of birds

So his favourite is the Ostrich. And now ...

6. Mary's starts with the same letter as Fred's

... so hers is the Otter.

7. Heather likes mythical creatures

So her favourite is the Unicorn.

11. Peggy's was swimming in the water

Can't be the Otter, so it's probably the Hippo.

13. Kyle's shares 3 letters with his name

So Kyle's favourite is the Monkey.

At this point the remaining animals are Aardvark, Chameleon, Elephant, Raccoon, Rhino, Tiger, Yak.

2. Jenny enjoyed the horn
14. Jenny's has 2 vowels

So hers must be the Rhino, which means ...

4. Victor's favorite starts with an R

... this must be the Raccoon.

8. The last letter of Sarah's is the first of Natasha's

Among the remaining animals (Aardvark, Chameleon, Elephant, Tiger, Yak), this can only mean Sarah's favourite is the Elephant and Natasha's is the Tiger.

5. Derek's and Kyle's share only 2 letters

Which of Aardvark, Chameleon, Yak shares exactly 2 letters with Monkey? The answer is Yak, so this is Derek's favourite.

10. Arthur's has 2 letters that no others have

This must be the Aardvark (D and V).

And finally Alice is the only one remaining, so her favourite must be

the Chameleon.

Final answer

Alice Chameleon
Arthur Aardvark
Bob Lion
Charley Llama
Derek Yak
Fred Ostrich
Heather Unicorn
Jenny Rhino
Kyle Monkey
Mary Otter
Natasha Tiger
Peggy Hippo
Sarah Elephant
Victor Raccoon

and the answer is

CALL YOUR MOTHER.

Answer 2

Progress so far:

Charley-Llama (3 unique letters)
Heather-Unicorn(Mythical creature)
Arthur-Aardvark(2 letters that none of the others have)
Kyle-Monkey (Shares 3 letters of Kyle)
Fred-Ostrich (Big fan of birds)
Mary-Otter (Shares the same first letter as that of fred)
Jenny-Rhino (Loves horns)
Dad-Lion (Shares the same first letter as that of Charley)
Derek-Yak (Shares two letters with that of Kyle)
Peggy-Hippo (Found swimming in water)
Victor-Raccoon (Starts with R)
Sarah-Elephant (Ends with "t")
Natasha-Tiger (Starts with the ending letter of Sarah's favourite)
Alice- Chameleon(Only remaining)

I believe that completes the grid.

Arranging them Alphabetically:

Alice- Chameleon
Arthur- Aardvark
Bob- Lion
Charley- Llama
Derek- Yak
Fred- Ostrich
Heather- Unicorn
Jenny- Rhino
Kyle- Monkey
Mary- Otter
Natasha- Tiger
Peggy- Hippo
Sarah- Elephant
Victor- Raccoon

So the final answer is:

CALL YOUR MOTHER (First letters of each animal)

Answer 3

The message is

CALL YOUR MOTHER

The animals are:

llama Charley's favorite only needs 3 unique letters
rhino Jenny enjoyed the horn
ostrich Fred is a big fan of birds
raccoon Victor's favorite starts with an R
yak Derek's and Kyle's share only 2 letters
otter Mary's starts with the same letter as Fred's
unicorn Heather likes mythical creatures
tiger (The last letter of Sarah's is) the first of Natasha's
lion (Bob) Dad's favorite starts the same as Charley's
aardvark Arthur's has 2 letters that no others have
hippo Peggy's was swimming in the water
elephant Sara[h] does not like Monkeys
monkey Kyle's shares 3 letters with his name
rhino Jenny's has 2 vowels
alice chameleon

Taking the first letters of the animals in the alphabetical order of the people who like them, we have:

C alice
A arthur
L bob
L charley
Y derek
O fred
U heather
R jenny
M kyle
O mary
T natasha
H peggy
E sarah
R victor