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Elephant Trivia Questions and Answers
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1. What is one of the differences between African and Asian elephants?
Answer: African elephants have bigger ears
Interesting Information:African elephants have much bigger ears than the Indian elephants, and also have a concave back, which Indian elephants do not. In fact it is the Indian cousin who is hairier. The diet of the animals tends to vary with the terrain and they eat the plant matter that is available.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
Indian elephants have bigger ears, African elephants have a wider diet, African elephants are more hairy
2. What do we call baby elephants?
Answer: calves
Interesting Information:Baby elephants are called calves. At birth, they can weigh up to 100kg.
A puggle is a baby echidna (or platypus), a leveret is a baby hare and a porcupette is a baby porcupine.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
puggles, leverets, porcupettes
3. What genus does the African elephant belong to?
Answer: Loxodonta
Interesting Information:There are 2 different species within the genus Loxodonta and these are "africana" and "cyclotis". Canis is the genus for dogs, including wolves and coyotes. Homo is the genus of us humans. Elephas is the genus of the Indian/Asian elephant.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
Canis, Homo, Elephas
4. Are elephants good swimmers?
Answer: Yes they can swim long distances
Interesting Information:Elephants use their trunks as snorkels so that they can swim in deep water. In Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe they passed knowledge down through the generations of what were originally land routes, and now that those routes are under water they will still swim along them.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
No they can't swim, They can swim but reluctantly and for short distances, It is not known if elephants can swim
5. At what age does a female African elephant reach sexual maturity?
Answer: ten
Interesting Information:Male African elephants reach sexual maturity between the ages of twelve and fifteen. It's the same for male Asian elephants. Female Asian elephants start breeding between the ages of twelve and fourteen.
While female elephants live in herds of between five and ten individuals, males live alone.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
twenty, thirty, forty
6. What continent do African elephants live on?
Answer: Africa
Interesting Information:Savannah elephants are found in 37 countries in Africa in zones called the "Savannah zones" which are found south of the Sahara desert. Forest elephants live in the rain forests of west and central Africa.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
7. What is the gestation period for elephants?
Answer: 22 months
Interesting Information:It takes approximately twenty two months from conception before a baby elephant is born. There used to be an urban myth that the gestation period was nine years but this was untrue. They normally mate in the rainy season and produce one calf. Occasionally twins may be born but this is uncommon.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
17 months, 9 years, 26 months
8. Typically, at any one time, how many babies would a female elephant produce?
Answer: one
Interesting Information:Normally a female elephant would only give birth to one baby, however, on rare occasions, there may be twins.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
three, five, seven
9. Are elephants social animals?
Answer: The females are social but the males are not
Interesting Information:Elephants live in large family groups of females and youngsters, led by a matriarch. There are usually about twenty animals in the group. The generations interact with one another and aunts and older sisters help to care for the babies. The male elephants tend to live alone except for mating.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
No, Yes, The males are social but the females are not
10. How long would a baby elephant stay with its family herd?
Answer: it depends on the baby's gender
Interesting Information:Female calves will stay with their family herd permanently. Males, however, leave the herd once they reach sexual maturity.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
six years, thirteen years, twenty years
11. An elephant's tusk is made of _____ .
Answer: ivory
Interesting Information:The ivory has unfortunately been the downfall of both Asian and African elephants. Walruses and Narwhal's also have ivory "tusks".
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
bone, enamel, antler
12. What do we call the physical and behavioural condition that male elephants experience once they become sexually mature?
Answer: musth
Interesting Information:Musth is caused by an elevation of testosterone. It's best to avoid elephants that are going through musth as they can be very aggressive and unpredictable.
Gedra, Dhaqmin, and Kuishi are all words found in various African languages.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
gedra, dhaqmin, kuishi
13. Elephants live in a social group that consists of cows and their daughters. These groups are led by the oldest female. What is the title given to the female that leads the herd?
Answer: Matriarch
Interesting Information:Matriarchs are often the eldest females in the group. They become leaders because they have years of experience and remember where water, food, and important minerals are. They also help calm first time elephant mothers because they have had the same experience. The matriarch is also the grandmother and sometimes great grandmother of some of the females in the herd.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
Maiden, Queen, Empress
14. Around how long ago were elephants first trained to work for human beings?
Answer: 4000 years
Interesting Information:Asian elephants were put to work hauling lumber, transporting crops and even carrying weapons into war. There are still many working elephants today but gradually the farmers are preferring to use tractors instead. When the elephants are retired they are too dependent and too tame to be released into the wild, and they are often used in the tourist industry. Elephants are also important in many religious ceremonies.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
600 years, 1000 years, 1700 years
15. What is a person who rides and looks after an elephant called?
Answer: Mahout
Interesting Information:This work runs in families and boys begin to learn the job at quite a young age. They look after the elephant washing, feeding and checking that it is healthy. They ride the elephant and supervise the work it does. There is often a strong and loving relationship between a mahout and his elephant.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
Keeper, Elimaster, Karim
16. How long is an elephant's gestation period?
Answer: twenty-two months
Interesting Information:At twenty-two months, elephants have the longest known gestation period for any animal. Although the calf is fully developed by the 19th month, it will not be born for another three months. By this time, it will have grown big enough to be able feed from its mother.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
twelve months, thirty months, thirty-six months
17. What is an ADULT elephant's only non quadrupedal enemy?
Answer: Humans
Interesting Information:Elephant calves often fall victim to predators and there have been videos of lions attacking calves. Therefore, being bipedal, humans are their only two legged enemy.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
Lions, Hyenas, Leopards
18. Approximately how often do female elephants give birth?
Answer: Every five years
Interesting Information:They give birth approximately every five years after a gestation period of twenty two months. The labour lasts for several days and they usually finally give birth at night. This is thought to provide a more peaceful atmosphere. As soon as the baby is born the mother begins to encourage it to stand on its feet. Sometimes the rest of the herd will give the mother and child privacy by making a circle around it.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
Every year, Every two years, Every seven years
19. What's an elephant's average lifespan?
Answer: between 60 and 80 years
Interesting Information:While droughts and predators (including humans) kill hundreds of elephants every year, the average lifespan is somewhere between sixty and eighty years. Elephants are social animals and, like us, they grieve when a loved one dies.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
between 30 and 40 years, between 40 and 45 years, between 90 and 130 years
20. What is a male elephant called?
Answer: bull
Interesting Information:The term "bull" is used for the male of many different species of animals, the most well known of which are male cattle.
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: The Mighty Elephant
21. In which year did IUCN rate the status of the African elephant as vulnerable?
Answer: 2008
Interesting Information:There has been a great decline in the number of wild elephants largely caused by the poaching of the animals for their tusks. Botswana has more wild elephants than any other country in the world. In 1989 there was a worldwide ban on the ivory trade, and for a while it worked, but in 2007 African countries were allowed to auction off stockpiles of tusks and this led to a revival in the sale of ivory. In some countries fashionable people see ivory as a status symbol.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Elephants
Some incorrect choices:
2016, 1989, 1976
22. Why do elephants usually give birth at night?
Answer: for protection
Interesting Information:While there have been occasions where captive elephants have given birth during the day, it's much safer for their wild cousins to give birth at night. The cover of darkness helps to hide the newborn calf from predators.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Born in the Wild: Elephant
Some incorrect choices:
because the weather is cooler, there's more mud to lie in, there's more food around
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