Animal Haiku Trivia Quiz

Answer: Zebra

Zebras are indigenous to the plains and mountains of Africa. They have evolved from early horses in the last four million years. As with other native animals, man has had a severe impact on their numbers, and at least one subspecies has become extinct. There has been debate over whether the animals were white with black stripes or vice versa. The study of embryos has shown that they are black animals which develop white stripes and abdomens. Various explanations have been suggested as to why zebras have stripes, including camouflage, confusing prey, heat regulation over different organs, and as each animal has a different pattern, a visual means of identification.

Like horses, most species live in harems of a stallion, several mares and their foals. Bachelor zebras live either singly or in groups together until they are old enough to challenge a stallion for his harem. Although attempts have been made to domesticate them because they are more resistant to African diseases than horses, their tendency to panic under stress has made them unsuitable for riding or as pack animals.

Question by Calpurnia09

Answer: Giant panda

The black and white giant panda is one of the world's rarest animals, and although they may look cute and cuddly, they can be quite dangerous. Their diet is mainly bamboo, but in times of shortage they may eat meat and fruit as well. They are basically quite solitary animals, and not terribly good at reproducing. This, and a shrinking habitat, has brought pandas to the edge of extinction, although a captive breeding programme in China has been having good results.

Snow leopards also live in cloud forests, but in Central Asia. They are seriously endangered.
Pere David's deer are a Chinese species discovered the 19th century by a missionary, Pere David, and specimens live in captivity in zoos around the world. In the 19th century the only herd of these animals was owned by the Emperor of China. Some managed to escape in 1895 when a wall was breached. They were killed and eaten by famished peasants, and the remaining thirty or so animals were killed in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Fortunately several animals had previously been illegally exported to other countries so, whilst extinct in the wild, they are today being bred successfully in zoos.

Pere David, who was French, also discovered many other animals and plants unknown to Western science - including the giant panda.

Question by Invinoveritas

Answer: Koala

Koalas are often called koala bears because they somewhat resemble teddy bears, but they are not related to the bear family at all. Their scientific name is Phascolarctos cinereus which means "ash coloured bear". They are marsupials and are related to the wombat and the kangaroo and, like them, carry their young in pouches. Koalas are found only in the southern and eastern parts of the Australian mainland. They rely on the eucalyptus trees for their food and water. Only when the temperature is high do they actually drink water. Their strong claws make them excellent climbers and they spend most of their time high in the tress of woodland areas. Their numbers have diminished by about 90% since settlement, mainly due to the loss of habitat. Their diminishing numbers were partly caused by the felling of native forests and partly because they were hunted almost to extinction for their fur. They are now a protected species. In NSW, Queensland and Victoria, the koala is now listed as vulnerable, and in South Australia as rare. I am fortunate to live in an area where gum trees are plentiful and they are often to be seen. A mother with a baby on her back is a real treat.

Calpurnia09

Answer: Tiger

The tiger is the largest of the big cats. They are solitary animals. Each carves out its own territory and only comes together with other tigers to mate. In recent years much of their native habitat has been lost, and this means that they frequently come into conflict with humans, usually to the detriment of the tiger. Their striped coats give them perfect camouflage amongst forests trees and long grasses. Rare amongst cats, they are fond of water. They are strong swimmers, and will habitually swim across lakes and rivers, and even catch prey in the water. On hot days they will often seek a pool to cool off in. Only the jaguar is known to share this fondness for water.

Question by Christinap

Answer: Kangaroo

Kangaroos are members of the family Macropodidae. Like many of Australia's unique fauna, they are marsupials, that is they give birth to live young who are carried in their mother's pouches and drink milk from the teats within. Kangaroos have strong hind legs which enable them to leap rapidly across the land. The numbers of large kangaroos have meant that, far from being in danger of extinction, they are sometimes culled to prevent overgrazing. They are hunted for both their meat and their hides. The meat, although slightly gamey in taste, has a low fat content that makes it a very healthy substitute for more traditional meats.

The hides produce a very fine leather for making clothes, belts and luggage. Kangaroos can move slowly while grazing by balancing on their tails and their small front paws. They can be very aggressive if they feel threatened and can hold a man or animal in their front paws while using their strong hind legs to disembowel their attacker. Being good swimmers they can retreat to water when in danger and have been known to drown other animals and even humans by holding them underwater. Smaller species of kangaroos have declined in numbers and some even wiped out since white settlement.

Question by Calpurnia09

Answer: Giraffe

Biological name 'Giraffa camelopardis', the giraffe is one of the only two members of its family, the other being the okapi. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought that giraffes were a cross breed composed of camels and leopards, having a shape similar to that of a camel and a spotted coat like that of a leopard, hence the name.

Beautiful, graceful creatures, giraffes can live for 25 years in the wild, and they are the tallest land animals as well as the largest ruminants. They have very long, purple tongues and amazingly long eyelashes. Despite having extremely long necks, giraffes still have only the standard seven neck vertebrae of all mammals. Their hearts are tremendously strong in order to be able to pump the blood all the way up to the animal's brain.

Question by Invinoveritas

Answer: Polar bear

As well as being the largest species of bear, the polar bear is also the largest land carnivore. Global warming and the early melting of sea ice may threaten its very existence. This species is seen to be a barometer for the devastating effects of global warming. The polar bear relies on the sea ice for its food supply of seals. The rapidly diminishing ice is making it much more difficult for the bears to reach their feeding and denning grounds. Being forced to swim longer distances to reach these areas often results in rapid weight loss and malnutrition among other things. Sadly, there seems to be no end in sight to the difficulties this noble creature of the north must endure.

Question by Barbarini

Answer: Cheetah

Able to sprint at speeds of up to 96 kilometres (60 miles) an hour, the cheetah (Acinonyx Jubatus) is the fastest animal on land. A member of the cat family, the cheetah has a rangy, slender build with a highly flexible spine which allows it to take long and rapid strides. Unlike most members of the cat family, their claws do not retract. This provides additional traction during acceleration. They are usually fawn or tawny coloured with small, black, round spots to provide camouflage when hunting. They have a small head with a distinctive "tear stripe" running from the corner of the eye down the side of the nose. This stripe reduces glare from the harsh African sun and enhances long distance vision. Although it is capable of rapid bursts of speed, the cheetah has limited endurance which means that it can only hunt effectively in open country. They are mainly found in areas of open savannah and light woodlands. The majority of the population is found in Africa, although small pockets are still thought to exist in the Middle East and Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list.

Question by KayceeKool

Answer: Snow Leopard

Snow leopards, Panthera unciads, are a threatened species of big cat living in the mountains in Central Asia. Their closest relative has been found to be the tiger. They are slightly smaller than other big cats, with stocky bodies, thick fur and small ears that enable them to conserve heat in their cold habitat. They have been hunted almost to extinction for their beautiful fur, their body parts, which are used in Chinese medicine, and because they kill and eat domestic stock. The nickname 'ounce' is thought to have originated from the French word for lynx which was Lonce.

Question by ronny8

Answer: Elephant

Elephants are the largest living land mammal. Found in Africa and Asia they live in mainly female herds, always headed by a matriach. Young males are excluded from the group when they reach breeding age, and will sometimes form small groups of young bulls. Once they reach full maturity, the males will become solitary wanderers coming to the herds only at breeding time. The ivory in elephant's tusks is sought after in the Far East, and they have suffered greatly from poaching. There are now laws about trading in ivory which have helped protect the elephant population, but poaching still continues.

Question by Christinap