The Magic of Animals in Video Games Quiz

In 1996 the Sony Playstation released the first installment of the "Crash Bandicoot" series. Built with a similar design to the "Mario" and "Donkey Kong Country" games, Crash is a hero out to stop the bad guy, Dr. Neo Cortex. The game series takes place on a fictitious archipelago west of Tasmania where Dr. Corext set up shop and started anthropomorphizing the local wildlife to become his private army for global domination. Crash was originally intended to be Dr. Cortex's general, however, the bandicoot ends up going to the good side instead! Crash proceeds to destroy Dr. Cortex's army and even challenges the mad scientist himself.

A bandicoot is a marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea. As the picture shows, the bandicoot looks like a cross between a rat and a rabbit. The word "bandicoot" means "pig-rat" in the Telugu Indian language mostly because of the grunting noises bandicoots make. The bandicoot has a remarkably short gestation period of less than 2 weeks! After such a short gestation the joey is tiny when it is born, measuring around 2 centimeters. Bandicoots use their cone-shaped noses to dig in the ground for bugs which is not always popular with gardeners.

"Sonic the Hedgehog" was first released in 1991 to combat Nintendo's huge success with the "Mario" games. Legend has it that Sonic was mutated by radiation testing on Christmas Island. In a symbolic way, Sonic represents nature while his enemy Dr. Robotnik represents man and machinery. The mad scientist seeks to mechanize everything and captures animals to be at the heart of his robots. Whenever Sonic defeats a robot, the animal is freed and runs away. One of the most notable features of the Sonic games is the speed at which the hedgehog can run. He must collect floating gold rings to stay healthy. As long as he has at least one ring, he will not die from hitting an enemy or dangerous objects. The "Sonic" series has become one of the most successful in video gaming.

Hedgehogs are cute little guys related to moles and shrews. They are primarily nocturnal omnivores weighing about as much as a small cat. One of the hedgehog's most distinguished features is their spines resembling a porcupine's quills. It is worth noting that, unlike the porcupine, the hedgehog's spines do not easily fall out, nor are they barbed. The hedgehogs prefer cooler climates and are not native to Christmas Island where Sonic supposedly was born.

Ecco is a dolphin and the main character of his series which was first released in 1992. The story opens up with Ecco swimming with his pod when suddenly everyone but him is sucked up into the air. Ecco goes on a long journey to figure out what happened to his family. After many missions and puzzles solved it is revealed that every 500 years space aliens come and harvest ocean animals from the Earth! Ecco can use a time machine to go back and be sucked up with his pod by the aliens. He proceeds to challenge the alien queen in combat to rescue his family. That is one talented dolphin!

Bottlenose dolphins are common across all of the warmer-climate oceans. The mammals generally live for 30 to 50 years in the wild and live in pods from 2 to 30 individuals. Interestingly, dolphins only sleep half of their brain at a time. The other half stays awake keeping an eye on their surroundings and monitors their breathing. Dolphins also do not have any hair which is unusual for mammals. They do have a few hair follicles, but the hairs they produce fall out shortly after birth and never produce another hair.

Though the name implies something else, Donkey Kong is a gorilla. There is quite a fascinating story as to how Donkey Kong came to be with its roots in trying to fill the arcade cabinets of a failed space invader-like video game. The three main characters of the original "Donkey Kong" game were originally based on Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto, but being unable to obtain the rights Nintendo changed them to a stubborn gorilla, Pauline, and Mario the Plumber. It would be twelve years after the original arcade game before the "Donkey Kong Country" franchise started providing enjoyable game mechanics.

Gorillas are very close cousins to humans sharing up to 99% of their DNA with humans. These primates live in family units called troops with one silverback male and one or more adult females and her children. The adult male gorilla is twice as big as the females and serves as the leader of the troop. The females stay close to the silverback for protection. Relationships between the females of the troop are not always harmonious but rarely lead to violence. Baby gorillas get most of their nurturing from their mothers and reach maturity around 12 years of age. Once mature, male gorillas will often break off from their natal troop to start their own family.

In the video game "Animal Crossing" Tom Nook is a raccoon dog also known as a tanuki. The game was first released in Japan in 2001 and has had several sequels. Tom Nook is usually portrayed as a shopkeeper in the game "Animal Crossing" and is the one to sell the player a house in the game. Tom sets up a mortgage for the players to pay off their house and even adds improvements to the house for an added fee. "Animal Crossing" is an open-ended simulation game that uses real-time and seasons.

Raccoon dogs are members of the Canidae family and are unrelated to raccoons. They are indigenous to Japan and have a long tradition in folklore as being tricksters as well as bringing good luck. More commonly called tanuki in Japan, the raccoon dog forms monogamous pairs with the father playing a large role in raising of the brood. Tanuki are the only canidae species that will hibernate over the winter. Sadly, they are often raised or hunted for their fur.

First debuting in 1997, Banjo, the sun bear, is out to rescue his little sister Tooty from the witch Gruntilda who wants to steal her beauty. Banjo is accompanied by his bird friend Kazooie as they visit many different worlds solving puzzles and collecting musical notes. The musical notes must be collected to open doors to new worlds and for the ultimate boss fight with Gruntilda herself. Several sequels were made for the "Banjo-Kazooie" series.

Southeast Asian sun bears are the smallest species of the Ursidae family and are often called honey bears for their love of honey. The "sun" part of their name comes from the light-colored patch on their chest and not for loving to sunbathe. The bears are solitary nocturnal omnivores. On top of loving honey, sunbears love to eat beetles, ants, termites, seeds, and even birds. The sun bear plays a vital role in the ecosystem by spreading seeds around the forest.

Epona made her first appearance in "The Legend of Zelda" game "Ocarina of Time". Relatively early in the game the protagonist, Link, can win Epona and use her as one of his main methods of travel. Epona was named after the Celtic goddess of horses. She has been a part of several of the subsequent games and can often be called with a whistle.

The horse is an amazing animal. They were first domesticated around 6,000 years ago and have had a complex relationship with humans ever since. Pregnancy lasts for eleven months and once a foal is born it can walk and run within hours of birth. Horses are very social and will mourn the loss of a companion. The eyes of horses are on the sides of their head, so they have a blind spot directly in front of them. Typically a horse will live between 25 to 30 years, though Old Billy made it to 62 years!

King K Rool is an evil overweight crocodile that antagonizes Donkey and Diddy Kong. The "K Rool" part of his name is a play on the word cruel. One of King K. Rool's favorite things to do is steal bananas, especially from the Kongs. He has several minions known as the Kremlings to do his bidding. Rool's primary mode of attack is running into one of the Kongs or jumping on them. He also will throw his crown at them like a boomerang.

Crocodiles are an ancient species of semi-aquatic reptile. They have not evolved much in the past 200 million years. While their jaws have incredibly strong closing force, they have far less strength to open them. Unlike most animals, crocodiles can regrow lost teeth. In fact, some crocodiles will regrow thousands of teeth in a lifetime! Remarkably, it has been discovered that crocodiles can self-reproduce. As far as reptiles go, they are excellent mothers protecting their eggs and their newborn young.

Miles "Tails" Prower is the main sidekick to Sonic the Hedgehog making his first appearance in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2". Unlike most foxes, he has two tails inspired by Kitsune from Japanese folklore. The Kitsune are foxes that as they grow older and wiser can morph their bodies even into human form if they wish. In the video game series, Tails is a humble admirer of Sonic and is willing to help the hedgehog in his quest. Tails can fly both by using his two tails like a helicopter or flying an actual plane. Unlike Sonic, Tails can also swim! Tails was so popular as a character that he started in his own video games.

Foxes have had a prominent place in folklore across the globe. While they are in the Canine family, foxes are more similar to cats than dogs. They are solitary unless they are raising young. Foxes hunt at night with incredible skill. Their hearing is phenomenal but what is even more amazing is they use the Earth's magnetic field to judge the distance, depth, and direction of their prey. Oh, and if you were wondering what does the fox say? Foxes can make forty different sounds including an eerie scream that sounds like a young woman's shriek. It will make your hair stand on end!

Released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64, Conker is not your average squirrel and certainly not suitable for children. During "Conker's Bad Fur Day" he starts off getting drunk at "The Cock and Plucker" bar and it is up to the player to help him stumble to his girlfriend's house. Conker finds himself on a quest to solve puzzles and fight bad guys...with his frying pan. At one point Conker meets Death who provides him with a shotgun and tells him about a wealthy undead ancestor leading to a quest to kill zombie squirrels. Oh, did I mention that the Fairy Panther King who rules the land is looking for a red squirrel just like Conker to be a fourth leg for his side table? This is possibly one of the funniest adult humor video games ever made.

Red squirrels are native to Europe and northern Asia. They primarily eat seeds and nuts but will occasionally eat eggs and birds. A squirrel's nest is called a drey and they often have more than one of them. Contrary to popular belief, squirrels do not always remember where they hide nuts or seeds, and certainly not as well as their cousin the gray squirrel. They also don't hibernate during the winter but rather enter a less active state. Typically 4 out of 5 red squirrels will not survive their first winter. For those that do, they live on average 3 to 7 years.