Pop Goes the Weasel Trivia Quiz

With its boggly black eyes, the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a big animal with a big personality; it's the loudest species of otter, with at least nine different vocalisations, and the biggest member of the Mustelidae family. It is very sociable and lives in family groups with as many as 20 members.

Although it is generally peaceful, it can be territorial and fights can break out between groups of giant otters. It lives in South America and is endangered due to poaching for its fur, and habitat loss.

In the mythology of the Achuar people of Ecuador and Peru, they are seen as water spirits.

Also known as the ratel, the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) has become something of an internet meme for being small yet fierce, standing up for itself in the faces of lions and hyenas. Its tough skin is difficult for porcupine quills, bee stings and other animals' teeth to penetrate.

It lives in Africa, India and Western and Central Asia, and gets its name from its love of honey; the scent it secretes from its anal pouch has a calming effect on bees, a handy ability when raising beehives. Because of this, it is greatly disliked by beekeepers.

Often confused with the weasel, the stoat (Mustela erminea) has long been prized for its white winter 'ermine' coat, often used to adorn the robes of kings and queens. In Zoroastrianism, the stoat's white coat represented purity. It is native to North America and northern Europe, but was introduced to New Zealand to cull the rabbit population; unfortunately, like the cane toad in Australia, it had a serious knock-on effect in that it killed birds.

The stoat is bigger than the weasel and has a longer tail with a bushy black tip. It also has a bounding gait and arches its back when running.

The American mink (Neogale vison) is native to the US (this one was photographed in Alaska), but has been introduced into Europe and Asia due to fur farms, and European populations in the wild have increased thanks to captive mink being released by animal rights activists.

It is larger than its European cousin and does not have the characteristic white patch of fur on its face. It lives near bodies of water and has an oily coat, with the oil from the pelt being used by furriers to make leather treatments.

It preys on fish and rabbits, and will sometimes establish its territory near a rabbit warren.

Not to be confused with a certain X-Man, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest of the land-dwelling mustelids and lives in northern Europe, Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, Alaska and Canada. Like the mink, it has an oily coat, making it popular with furriers as a lining for jackets in cold conditions.

It is nicknamed the 'skunk bear' because it uses its anal glands to scent mark. They are scavengers and will sometimes follow lynx or wolf packs and eat the remains of their kills; they also sometimes cache their food.

Despite their relatively small size, they have been known to kill deer and even the odd lynx or golden eagle.

The ferret (Mustela furo) is thought to be a domesticated form of the polecat and is one of the few mustelids that can be kept as a pet, as well as being used to kill rodents and hunt rabbits. In some countries, such as New Zealand, there are restrictions on keeping ferrets because of damage to native wildlife done by feral colonies of ferret/polecat crosses.

They are thought to have originally been domesticated by the Romans, and Julius Caesar is sent to have sent Libyan ferrets to the Balearic Islands to keep down the rabbit population. Like cats, they are obligate carnivores and are unable to digest plant matter.

The American marten (Martes americana) is sometimes known as the pine marten, though the European pine marten (Martes martes) is a different species. Populations decreased dramatically in the early 19th century due to the fur trade, but have risen since the early 20th century.

Its range is in the northern states of the US, as well as Canada, and forests are its preferred habitat. Marten prey on rodents, although they will also eat birds or carrion depending on what is available. In summer, they eat fruit and play an important role in local ecosystems as seed dispersers.

The greater grison (Galactis vittata) is probably the most obscure animal in this quiz, but also one of the most distinctive-looking with its black body and grey back. It lives in Mexico and South America, near bodies of water and in forests and the Cerrado (the Brazilian savannah).

They are terrestrial, but are good swimmers and tree climbers, and prey on fish, birds, insects and other mammals. They make a barking noise when threatened, and will also scream and bare their teeth. They spray a scent from their anal glands to repel attackers.

The European badger (Meles meles) is one of the most distinctive-looking mammals in the UK, with its striped face and silvery body. As well as Europe, it also lives in Central Asia. It makes its home in a network of tunnels called a sett; the dachshund ('badger dog') was bred to hunt badgers, and its low body makes it capable of getting into setts. Like cats, they use trees as scratching posts. Badgers bark when surprised and scream when frightened or mating (I used to live in the country and badgers were as loud as foxes!)

Badgers often feature in British animal literature; Colin Dann's 'Animals of Farthing Wood' series, Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows', CS Lewis' 'Prince Caspian' and Brian Jacques' 'Redwall' series all feature heroic badgers. In Irish myth, they are shapeshifters.

I couldn't leave weasels out! The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is the most recognisable weasel species and is often just called the weasel. It is native to North America, North Africa and Eurasia, but has been introduced to other countries such as São Tomé and Malta. Unlike the stoat, it does not have a winter coat and stays brown and white all year. It kills rabbits by attacking their necks, and also preys on mice, but not rats. Weasels and stoats have been known to compete for prey, although weasels avoid stoats due to stoats having the size advantage.

Although the weasel gets a bad press in some cultures and is seen as an unpleasant and untrustworthy creature, it is considered heroic or benevolent in others; for example, in Inuit myth, heroes will change into weasels. In Ancient Macedonia, it was considered to be a good omen, and in Greek myth, it was the only animal that could kill a basilisk.