Animals of Madagascar Trivia Quiz

Answer: In and around fresh water

The web-footed tenrec (Microgale mergulus) is a mammal of about 25 to 40 cm, with bristly fur (especially when wet). Different photos indicate that the fur is dark-grey to black on the back, with a lighter (sometimes bright yellow) belly. The webbed hind feet allow it to hunt in the rivers or streams of the eastern part of Madagascar, where it hunts at night on aquatic insects and their larvae (such as dragonflies), crayfish and small fish or small frogs. The front feet display sharp claws to assist in the hunting and killing of prey. When swimming, the long tail is used as a rudder. Web-footed tenrecs locate their prey by using their long whiskers: they detect even the smallest vibrations a possible prey causes in the water. Their senses of sight and hearing are less developed.

Because the web-footed tenrec has a quite small habitat, the species is classified as "vulnerable". The main threat is water pollution.

Answer: Sea grass

The order of the Sirenia includes three species of manatees and the dugong. Manatees live in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean (the West Indian manatee), on the west coast of Africa (African manatee) or in the Amazon basin (Amazonian manatee), while the dugong lives in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. Madagascar is only one of the almost 40 countries where dugongs can be found.

Dugongs have quite large, almost cylindrical-shaped, bodies, typically 3m long and weighing about 420 kg. Females are usually slightly larger than males. The front paws have evolved to short flippers, while they lack hind flippers. Their tail is a large horizontal fluke.

They feed on seagrass in the coastal areas of their habitat, which they typically graze on a depth of 10m. There is evidence that dugongs can dive to 37m to get to more protected beds of sea grass. Occasionally they also ingest algae or even small shellfish.

Contrary to the belief that all manatees need to dwell at least part of their lives in freshwater, the dugongs live at sea and rarely come to feed in the brackish estuaries.

Although the dugong has very few natural enemies and thus can reach a quite long lifespan, the status of the dugong is vulnerable. Their rate of procreation is rather low, and the pollution of their coastal habitat poses a risk.

Answer: Aye-aye

The aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) was quite difficult to classify. It finally ended up in the order of the primates and the superfamily of the lemurs. The aye-aye is about 90cm long, including the tail (which is longer than the actual body). The most striking part of its appearance is not the very long tail of the aye-aye, but its very long fingers. The front paws typically have a thin third finger and an extremely long fourth finger (even longer than the third finger). Aye-ayes are omnivores feeding on fruit, fungi and insect larvae, and they prefer insect grubs that live under the bark of a tree.

The aye-aye has a habit of tapping wood with its third finger to locate worms and grubs living under the bark. As soon as the aye-aye has located some grubs, it gnaws through the bark using its long incisor teeth, and then grabs the grubs with its fourth finger. Aye-ayes spend most of their time in the trees, and come down to the ground only rarely.

In my opinion the appearance of an aye-aye has influenced the artwork on the movie character "E.T".

The other options are also primates, but do not have any tail, nor do they live in Madagascar. Pottos live in the western part of mainland Africa, the red slender loris can only be found in the wild on Sri Lanka, and the orangutan is native to Indonesia (more specifically the islands of Borneo and Sumatra).

Answer: Rodentia

There are two species of voalavo: the eastern voalavo (Voalavo antsahabensis) and the northern voalavo (Voalavo gymnocaudus). Both are rodents endemic to Madagascar and have a mousy appearance.

The eastern voalavo lives in the central highlands of Madagascar. It has a body length of about 9 cm and a tail length of about 10-11 cm. As its habitat is subject to the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture (even though it is a protected region), the eastern voalavo is listed as endangered.

More to the northern tip of Madagascar lives the northern voalavo. Its appearance is quite similar, although its tail might be slightly longer than the eastern voalavo's. The northern voalavo's tail is hairless, while the eastern voalavo's tail is furry. The northern voalavo is listed as least concern for extinction, because its habitat is quite efficiently protected.

Lagomorphs are hares and rabbits. They typically have very short tails.

Cingulates are the armoured mammals such as armadillos. Their habitat is limited to South-America. Bats have wings but almost no tails.

Answer: Northwest

The name indicates the correct answer. The western sucker-footed bat (Myzopoda schliemanni) lives only in the (north)western part of Madagascar, while its closest relative, the Madagascan sucker-footed bat (Myzopoda aurita), lives on almost the entire east coast.

Sucker-footed bats differ from other species of bats by the presence of small cuplike knobs on their wrists and ankle. These serve to expel a sticky liquid, which they use to roost within the leaves of the traveller's tree, a Madagascan relative to the South-African strelitzia. Because of this peculiar way of roosting, sucker-footed bats are accustomed to sleep with their heads up, unlike the other bats who usually sleep upside-down.

The diet of the Madagascan sucker-footed bat is not well documented. The western sucker-footed bat thrives on a diet of butterflies and moths, with cockroaches for variation and, rarely, a wasp, bee or beetle. Both species of sucker-footed bat are listed as least concern.

Answer: Snails

The western falanouc (Eupleres major) is a carnivore. It resembles a mongoose: a long body with a pointed head and a long, bushy tail. The western falanouc has a dark brown fur, a bit lighter on the belly. There is also an eastern falanouc (Eupleres goudotii), similar in appearance but with lighter fur and a bit smaller. As you would expect, the habitat of the western falanouc is on the west side of Madagascar, while the eastern falanouc mostly dwells on the east side.
The teeth of both species of falanouc are adapted to their diet: both the canines and the molars are oriented backwards, to enhance the consumption of snails, slugs and other invertebrates.

The western falanouc is active during the night and twilight, while the activity cycle of the eastern falanouc is unclear. The western falanouc is listed as endangered, while the eastern falanouc (with a larger habitat) is listed as vulnerable. The main threats for both species are habitat loss and competition with imported carnivores.

Never feed any animal chocolate: it is highly toxic to almost all animals. As for the pancakes, I don't think anyone is crazy enough to prepare a meal for wild animals that roam freely.

Answer: Brown

The white-breasted mesite is a ground-dwelling bird of medium size. It can fly for a few metres, but not for a prolonged distance. Its reddish-brown back provides for camouflage in the forests where the mesite forages. Its diet is mainly insects and arachnids, with some seeds for variety. The mesites nest close to the ground, in nests of simple construction made with twigs. They breed in the period November - January, the full summer in Madagascar.

White-breasted mesites live mostly in the northwest of the island, although they also are spotted sometimes in a forest in the east. They are listed as vulnerable.

Answer: Cuculidae (Cuckoos)

The couas are indeed several cuckoo relatives endemic to Madagascar. I've chosen to discuss the blue coua out of the nine extant species, but all have similar behaviour. The blue coua, of course, has blue feathers: the whole body is evenly bright blue, with a bald oval blue patch around the eyes. Blue couas can reach a length of about 50 cm and seem quite sturdily built.

The blue coua (as well as the other species) emits sounds as "koa koa koa", hence the family name. Occasionally it also makes a trilling sound "breeee", but that is not because it wants to be fed some French cheese. The blue coua is an omnivore, feeding on insects, fruits and small reptiles. It lives in the forests in the Northwest of Madagascar.

Some species of coua are extinct, for instance the snail-eating coua (Coua Delalandei), but the others are listed as least concern.

From each of the other named families I'll mention just one of the species indigenous to Madagascar: the Meller's duck, the Madagascar buzzard and the Torotoroka's scops-owl.

Answer: Red

The Sakalava rail (Zapornia olivieri) has different plumages in males and females, and also the shanks are coloured differently. While the females have pink feet and brown-green feathers, the males have reddish-brown to black feathers and bright red shanks.

Sakalava rails live on the western side of Madagascar, in less than six remote marshy areas. They typically wade through the water, turning over some leaves of water plants, and devouring the spiders, crustaceans or insects hiding under these leaves.

The mating ritual starts with the male luring the female to what he thinks to be a suitable nesting place. He then starts building a nest, and when the female approves, she helps building it. After the eggs are laid, both parents contribute to the hatching and to feeding the chicks. The Sakalava rail is listed as an endangered species. The main threat is habitat loss: many marshlands have been turned into agricultural parcels.

Answer: The upper chest and neck

The Madagascar plover (Charadrius thoracicus) is a shorebird living in salty marshes and mud lands in the western and southern parts of Madagascar. The head and the belly are whitish, with the exception of the black bands around the neck and on the upper chest, as well as over the eyes. A small reddish-orange spot can be found on the lower belly and under the tail. The feathers on the back are greyish-brown to light-brown, lightly speckled.

Madagascar plovers are listed as vulnerable, because of the threat of habitat loss.