International Animals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marsupial

Most people in the southern United States drop the initial letter and call the critter a possum. The phrase 'playing possum' comes from the animal's defense against predators by lying completely still when accosted. A possum will lie in one position for several minutes, before finally getting up and wandering off after the danger has passed.

(Question by Ladyleo)

Answer: American alligator

Alligators are members of the order Crocodylia. American alligators reach a average length of 11.5 feet (3.5m) and weigh about 1,000 pounds (454kg). Alligators live in the southeastern United States from North Carolina to Texas. Although the Tennessee turtle doesn't exist, their state reptile is the eastern box turtle. The Texas tortoise is a type of gopher tortoise, and the Canadian caiman doesn't exist, but a caiman did escape from a Toronto zoo over the summer of 2014. Fortunately it was recaptured the next day.

(Question by Irisse)

Answer: Rhinoceros

Black rhinos are native to Africa and are regularly poached for their horns which are used for traditional medicine. The horns are made of keratin and are ground in the belief that the resulting dust has therapeutic properties. Vietnam is the largest market and cost by weight can be equal to that of gold.

The rhinoceros population in 2014 was 90% lower than it was three generations earlier.

(Question by Pam1239)

Answer: Red kite

The red kite is found in several countries in Europe. It is a versatile bird that was considered vermin in the UK during the Tudor period because it fed on rubbish. People were rewarded for killing this beautiful creature.

(Question by Upstart3)

Answer: European water vole

'Wind in the Willows' was published in 1908 by Kenneth Grahame. The European water vole is often called a water rat, which is why the character in the renowned book is called 'Ratty' as opposed to a name more suited to the technical name of the animal. Moreover, there is a wide misconception that water voles are a species of rat, which they are not. Usually, European water voles only live up to five months, although in captivity they can live up to two and a half years.

(Question by LAW1998)

Answer: Duck-billed platypus

When the first duck-billed platypus was sent to England in 1799, it was thought to be a hoax. Naturalist George Shaw, Keeper of the Natural History Museum, thought it was a mole with a duck bill sown onto it. Eventually it was proved that this creature existed. The male duck-bill has a spur on its foot that can be harmful to humans should it inject venom.

(Question by bubbatom1)

Answer: Coral snake

The coral snake's coloration closely resembles that of a scarlet kingsnake or milk snake. The difference lies in the arrangement of the bands of color.

(Question by Ladyleo)

Answer: Manx shearwater

The Manx shearwater migrates thousands of miles to winter in South America. It can live to quite an age. One of them, aged over fifty, was one of the oldest wild birds ever recorded and was estimated to have flown over five million miles in its life.

(Question by Upstart3)

Answer: Manatee

Manatees are gentle, slow moving animals that belong to the order Sirenia. The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. Manatees are approximately 12 feet long (3.6m) and weigh up to 1,300 pounds (589kg). They are herbivores and, along with dugongs, are the only plant eating marine mammals. Manatees eat 10-15% of their body weight every day. That's more than 150 pounds of food. Manatees are a truly unique animal, but if you see one in the water look but don't touch. The are an endangered species and it is illegal to harass them in any way. Fines can reach up to $100,000 and/or one year imprisonment.

(Question by Irisse)

Answer: At low tide they stock up on air bubbles so they can breathe at high tide

Lugworms have a kind of gills, so don't need to collect air bubbles at low tide. But they do burrow a U-shaped hole, lie mostly in the bottom part of the U, eat, or swallow, sand at the head end and feed on the organic materials contained in the sand. Every 45 minutes or so the worm crawls to the rear end of the tube and expels the digested sand from his rear. This way each worm filters about 25kg of sand per year. They clean the mudflats of the east Atlantic to a depth of 20cm. They procreate only during a couple of nights around the full moon in October.

(Question by malama)