Animal Hodgepodge #2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wood stork

The wood stork is easily identified by its featherless head, long legs and distinctive bill, and can generally be found in the waters of South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. The way in which it feeds is quite remarkable, as it employs an unusual fishing technique that involves opening its bill before plunging it into the water.

The wood stork then waits patiently for a fish to swim close to its open bill, before then snapping it shut like a mousetrap. With such an impressive reaction time, of around 25 milliseconds, the wood stork's prey has no chance of escaping.

Answer: Atlantic puffin

Though the Atlantic puffin's colouring is similar to that of the penguin, it is known for its colourful bill, which is believed to aid in attracting a mate. During breeding season, its large, triangular bill turns a distinctive bright orange, with flecks of blue and yellow dotting its rear.

But as winter arrives, this colour fades, and is eventually replaced by a drab grey. Also referred to as the sea parrot, due to the fact that it spends most of its life at sea, the Atlantic puffin is an excellent swimmer, and has been known to dive to depths of 200 feet, despite only being able to hold its breath for 20-30 seconds at a time.

Answer: Little red flying fox

The little red flying fox is a tree-dwelling bat, which takes advantage of its jointed thumbs and feet in order to manoeuvre its way around the treetops in which it roosts during the daytime. It has also been known to travel incredible distances in order to feed, (sometimes up to 50 miles in a single night), and as a result, is a very effective pollinator.

Answer: Walrus

The walrus is easily recognised by its iconic white tusks, which are used to help it out of the Arctic's icy waters. These tusks can grow up to a meter in length, and are also used to pierce the ice, in order to create breathing holes. Moreover, similarly to the way in which bucks lock horns in order to attract a mate, the male walrus also uses its tusks aggressively, not only in order to defend its territory, but also to protect its females during the mating season.

Answer: Sea star

Previously known as the starfish, the sea star can be found in every ocean in the world. While it is the five-arm variety that is the most common, sea stars with twenty, and even forty arms have been found. Its remarkable ability to regenerate boils down to the fact that most sea stars' organs are housed in their arms, and so with its central disc intact, it is able to regenerate.

Answer: Kinkajou

The kinkajou spends much of its time in the trees, and is often called the honey bear, due to its penchant for raiding the nests of bees. Though a nocturnal animal, it is known for being quite vocal, due to the screeching and barking sounds it makes.

Answer: Sun bear

The bib-like patch found on the chest of the sun bear is considered to resemble the rising sun, and explains the origins behind its name. As the smallest of the bear family it grows to no more than five feet in length, and thus is easily able to manoeuvre itself through the trees.

Its appetite for honey earned it the nickname 'honey bear', and it is especially known for its large tongue, which aids it in extracting the honey from bees' nests.

Answer: Gelada monkey

The gelada monkey is the very last of the grass-grazing primates, and can only be found in the grassy mountains of Ethiopia. It lives in small family units, and though the females are smaller than the males, the species lives according to a matriarchal society.

The species was once abundant in other locations, and fossils have revealed that it was once found in other parts of Africa, in addition to the Mediterranean and Asia.

Answer: Fossa

With its deceptively feline appearance, the fossa was originally thought to be a member of the cat family, but was eventually revealed to be related to the mongoose. A slender, feline-like creature, not only does the fossa resemble the cat in appearance, it also has sharp, needle-like teeth and retractable claws, totally unlike its mongoose cousin.

Answer: Dugong

The dugong is an endangered marine mammal and, like its close relative, the elephant, it is known to live longer than many other animals, living on average until the ripe old age of seventy in the wild. The female spends an entire year pregnant, and gives birth to only one offspring at a time, which stays with her for the first eighteen months of its life.