Creepy Creatures Lurking in the Dark of Night Quiz

Answer: Raccoon

The raccoon is a medium sized mammal of North America, but isn't necessarily nocturnal. They do prefer to move about more in the cover of darkness, but can and have been seen out and about during the day. They are easily recognizable by the black facial fur that creates a bandit-like mask around their eyes. Coons also have agile front paws, "hands", which they make great use of.

This is uncommon in the animal world but not exclusive to the raccoon. These critters are highly intelligent and quite skilled at problem solving, especially when it comes to getting at food sources.

Answer: Coyote

Coyotes are pack animals that are most active after dark. They are timid and shy around humans and will run away if approached. However, coyotes can be very friendly and playful with other animals and family members. When a coyote chooses a mate, they remain monogamous and will start their own family or pack in a new territory.

A mother usually has about six pups at a time. The father actively helps to raise the pups but if something happens to the mother before the babies are weaned, then the father will abandon them.

Answer: Opossum

According to the Opossum Society of the United States, the opossum has earned the nickname of "Nature's Little Sanitation Engineer". These marsupials eat all kinds of insects, worms, grubs and bugs. They will eat garbage from our bins, rotten fruit which has dropped from trees and even rats, mice and snakes.

They keep our gardens and yards free from other disease-carrying animals and insects. They have prehensile tails, opposable thumbs on their back feet and they have more teeth in their mouths than any other land animal in America, fifty teeth in all.

The opossum roamed the earth when dinosaurs existed and is the only marsupial in North America.

Answer: Armadillo

Armadillos are small- to medium-sized nocturnal mammals with a hard shell over their bodies. All armadillos originated in South America but have migrated to North America as well. They eat mostly insects, ants, grubs and worms and have long sharp claws used for digging up food and making dens to sleep in during the day.

Many Armadillos are carriers of the bacterium that causes the disease leprosy. It is wise not to handle these creatures if you encounter them while out in nature.

Answer: Fox

The fox can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants to sustain life. The males are called tods and the females are known as vixens. The babies can be called kits, pups or cubs, and a group of foxes is known as a skulk.

They are members of the Canine family, but are in different genera from wolves, coyotes, domestic dogs etc. A fox has partially retractable claws and dogs do not. Another way they differ is that foxes are digitigrades, which means they walk on their toes. Dogs walk on the pads of their paws, and a fox does not necessarily have to belong to a skulk (pack).

They can be solitary animals. They eat small mammals, birds, lizards, eggs and plants.

Answer: Bat

The bat is the only flying mammal in the world. They can also climb or walk. Some bats can even swim. They sleep during the day and come out at night to feed. Bats can eat up to 3000 mosquitoes a night. They use echolocation to find their food and to keep from flying into things. You should never try to handle a bat as they are notorious for being carriers of the rabies virus.

Answer: Owl

Owls are birds of prey that are most active at night. They eat small animals and insects and some hunt for fish. They can turn their heads 270 degrees; human heads can only rotate 80 degrees. They have special feathers that help reduce the noise their wings make when in flight, very helpful when hunting.

These birds have excellent eyesight at great distances, but up close, their vision is not as clear.

Answer: Mouse

Mice are nocturnal mammals in the rodent family. Their ability to adapt to any environment, along with their multiple births and short gestation period, makes them one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today. Mice need this edge in the race for existence because they are hunted by many predators.

They are an easy source of food for larger, faster animals. Mice have poor eyesight, but use their sense of smell and their keen hearing to avoid trouble and find food. The mouse is a carrier for a variety of diseases, the bubonic plague being one of them.

This disease, carried by mice and rats, cause 25 million deaths in a five-year span throughout Europe in the 1300s.

Answer: Sugar Glider

Sugar gliders are nocturnal marsupials that live in the trees. The name is derived from their partiality for foods containing the sweet nectar of fruits and berries. The Latin name, Petaurus breviceps (meaning "short-headed rope-dancer"), is attributed to their playful antics in the tree tops. They can be found in Australia and New Guinea.

Answer: Aardvark

The aardvark belongs to the order Tubulidentata and is the only species of its kind still alive. It gets its name from the Afrikaan word "erdvark" which translates to "earth pig." They have a long snout for sniffing out their food which consists mostly of ants and termites. Aardvarks have strong legs and sharp claws built perfectly for digging and burrowing into insect hills.

They live in burrows or dens where they stay during the hottest part of the day, preferring to forage at night when it is cooler.