Ferocious Beasts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sun bear

The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear and one of the rarest and most endangered; it is also the fiercest, known to attack human beings without provocation. Named for the crescent mark on its chest that resembles the setting sun, the sun bear is also known as the dog-faced bear for its canine-like face, having a short, flat head, short muzzle, and round ears. It's also called the honey bear, after its freakishly long tongue that can extract honey from hives. But we're not done with names; it's also called the Malay bear for its habitat of tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. In the Malay language, it is the 'basindo nan tenggil', meaning "he who likes to sit high", as they are agile climbers and like to sun-bathe in treetops up to 23 feet (7 m). A sun bear could easily kill a clouded leopard.

The grizzly bear is a large North American denizen; the polar bear, Arctic; and the spectacled bear, South American.

Answer: Wild boar

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) or wild swine or wild pig originated in Europe and central Asia and it was introduced to Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Australasia, making it one of the most widespread animals on Earth. All domestic breeds of hog descend from the wild boar. Males have a dark, bristly coat and a four tusks which they are not afraid to use against human beings if need be, and they can do serious damage by charging and stabbing at the thighs. Once they start attacking, they will not stop until their opponent is dead or utterly incapacitated.

Answer: Saltwater crocodile

If you see roughly a ton (1000 kg or 2200 lbs) and around 20 feet (6 m) of scaly, hungry ruthlessness crawling out of a mangrove, lagoon, delta, or even brackish rivers in India, Southeast Asia, or northern Australia, you can bet it's a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Also called a marine crocodile, or Indo-Pacific crocodile, the "saltie" can kill and eat anything it runs into, even creatures larger than itself, so you should thank your lucky stars that humans (in fit condition) can outrun them on land, but in the water...not so much.

The saltie can swim up to 12 mph (20 km/h); it can spend days or even weeks in the water and swim hundreds of miles without coming out, eating all the while. It ensnares its prey in powerful jaws and demolishes them with a death roll.

Answer: Whale shark

The "Big Three" dangerous sharks are the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and the bull shark (Carcharinus leucas). Of these, the great white alone has made more recorded unprovoked attacks on people than the other two species combined! The whale shark, however, is one of three plankton-eating sharks species (the other two being the basking shark and the megamouth shark), and so although it is the world's largest shark, it is among the least dangerous sharks for humans.

Answer: Black mamba

The venomous black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is the terror of sub-Saharan Africa as it can live in almost any habitat, although it generally prefers the ground to trees. Like many snakes, it ambushes its prey. Able to achieve speeds of 12 mph (20 km/hr), the black mamba is not so aggressive as defensive; what makes it strike humans and other animals with such ferocity is its enormous fear and sense of being threatened or trapped, which is ironic since its presence strikes such fear in the hearts of people, especially when opens its gaping, inky-black mouth. Only the king cobra is a longer snake in Africa.

Answer: Common shrew

Only a couple of inches (around 6 cm) long, the common shrew (Sorex araneus) inhabits the woods and meadows of Eurasia. The shrew's wickedly fast metabolism requires it to eat every two or three hours, or starve to death, and it has no compunction against taking down animals twice its size to feed its ravenous appetite.

Their bite is venomous, but that's really overkill because usually they just crush the base of the prey's skull. On the other hand, they have been observed to collapse from the strain of conflict; they just burn too brightly.

Although found on the island of Great Britain, you won't find it in Ireland!

Answer: Least weasel

The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) can be found all over the world: it is native to North America, North Africa, and the whole of Eurasia, but it was (alas) introduced to Australia, Bermuda, and many other places. (In the UK, it is commonly called just "weasel"). Some subspecies are as small as a hamster, yet they can kill prey five times their size! How? The weasel jumps on the back of its large prey, and like a vampire pierces the jugular vein and drains the poor creature of its blood. Smaller critters, like birds and frogs, are simply crushed to death in their powerful jaws. Populating the world, the least weasel ranks among the least endangered.

Photographer Martin Le-May from Essex, England, took a remarkable photo of a weasel on the back of a green woodpecker, as the bird flew through the air. (The woodpecker somehow managed to escape the grip of the weasel as it landed.) A green woodpecker is 11½-14 inches (30-36 cm) long, whereas the female least weasel is a mere 4½-8 inches (11.4-20 cm) long. Had the photographer not distracted the weasel, she probably would have got her prey.

Answer: Wolverine

The rapacious wolverine hunts all through the boreal forests and tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Canada, and Alaska. Its very name, Gulo gulo, means "glutton of gluttons". With its oily fur and stocky build, it looks more like a bear, but it's actually a mustelid (meaning it's in the weasel family), not to mention the largest of the land-dwelling mustelids. If it doesn't eat you, it may offend you to death with its putrid scent-marking (hence the "skunk bear" name).

A special tooth rotated at a right angle to the jaw allows the wolverine to tear the flesh off frozen carrion in the tundra.

Answer: Northern goshawk

Of all the hawks that dwell in the forest and hunt in the daytime, the northern goshawk (Accipter gentilis) is the largest, ranging all over Eurasia and North America. It strikes dread with its red eyes and charcoal-colored feathers, and its merciless territoriality makes it exceptionally dangerous to human beings; consequently, it is not endangered like other raptors.

As though from Hitchcock's "The Birds", the northern goshawk will defend its nest by diving at the intruding human and ripping the scalp off his or her skull.

But you may yet consider yourself lucky; the northern goshawk has also been observed eating ducks alive.

Answer: Hippopotamus

If you see a Hippopotamus amphibius in the rivers and mangrove swamps of sub-Saharan Africa, do not go in! Hippos are extremely territorial, and your presence will be perceived as a threat, and it will attack, and you will likely not survive. Hippo attacks are all too frequent in Africa, where people have accidentally encountered sick or hungry hippos, even out of the water; they will attack in those conditions not because they want to eat humans (which they do not, being strict herbivores) but because it is an instinctive response to stress. And don't think you are safe out of the water; hippos can run as fast as humans for short distances.

They will also attack lions and even elephants! Because of this pugnacity, hippos have thrived where other prey animals would not.