Hallmark Holidays- Animal Edition Quiz

Answer: spider

Most of the press for "Save a Spider Day" claims that these creatures are much maligned due to fear. Few spiders are actually harmful to humans, and most help by eating bugs that we don't want around, e.g., mosquitoes, flies, ants and aphids.

Answer: Bactrian camel

The "Thousand Camel Festival" was organized to protect and preserve the declining Bactrian camel populations. The festival includes competitions for "best looking couple on camelback", cutest male and female camels, camel polo, and drawing competitions for the young.

Answer: goat

The annual "Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race" actually got it's start from a pub conversation and has grown from that point. In 2011 a stoat race was added as well.

Answer: elephant

The parade and the tug-of-war between human and elephant are some of the highlights of the "Elephant Festival". There is also a much prized award for the "Best Decorated Elephant", and a colorful polo game where the mahouts and elephants are garbed in crimson and saffron.

Answer: catfish

According to the proclamation for "National Catfish Day", farm-raised catfish "comprised the third highest volume of finned fish consumed in the United States." From other news accounts, it appears that the formal proclamation increased the sales of this farm-raised fish. Wonder if that was the intent?

Answer: Icelandic horse

The week-long "Icelandic Horse Festival" includes trips to breeders showing their best horses, training, horses fo sale, etc. A "tölt" gait is considered to be an ambling gait recognized for speed and rider comfort. I thought this was an interesting tidbit: Icelandic laws prevent import of other horses, and prevent return of any horse that has been exported.

Answer: hawk

The "International Festival of Falconry" attracts falconers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Arab Emirates, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Austria, USA, Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan, and more. Generally, a falconer flies a falcon and an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle.

In modern terms, the falconer is generally referred to anyone flying any bird of prey. I found this quote from James Marchinton to be interesting: "Here's something else I noticed about falconers. They look at the sky. Most people just walk about, looking at ground level. Falconers are constantly glancing up at the sky."

Answer: shark

Press for "Shark Awareness Day" highlights that conservationists believe that shark populations are declining and that human education can help. Three shark species, the Great White, Tiger and Bull sharks, have been reported as attacking humans, but there are many more that are no danger to humans. One quote from Dr. Samuel "Sonny" Gruber, one of the world's leading shark researchers says "The fact remains that around 100 shark attacks do occur each year, but elephants are bigger killers; they do in 200-plus mahouts and trainers each year. Talk about vicious-dogs kill thousands. And get this: Soda machines killed more people last year than sharks did."

Answer: penguin

The start of migration of the Adelie Penguins was the day chosen as the "World Penguin Day". Penguins can be found in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Falkland Islands, and Galapagos Islands. They range is size from the Fairy Penguin at 16 inches to the Emperor Penguin at about 43 inches.

This holiday is already listed on Hallmark's "The Ultimate Holiday Site", but they also recognize "Penguin Awareness Day", thus lacking a focus for the penguins.

Answer: bee

This holiday is "Don't Step on a Bee Day". A reminder about being careful if going barefoot through grass or clover. In addition, it's an opportunity to educate folks on the importance of bees in our global economy. Not only do they pollinate the flowers, but they create honey. One estimate stated that in the US the average consumption is 1.29 pounds per year per person.