If I Were a Bilby Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marsupial

A bilby is a marsupial that mainly lives in desert-type areas of Australia. They are from 29 to 55 centimetres long and have a long tail, big ears, long tongues and soft fur. They are mainly nocturnal and are omnivores, and like the Koala, do not need to drink water as they get all the fluid they need from their food which consists mainly of insects and insect larvae, spiders, fruit, fungi and sometimes, very small animals.

There were originally two species of bilby, but one species died out in the 1950s and the bilby is now becoming an endangered species because of competition with other animals, and loss of habitat. "Bilby" is a word from the language of the Yuwaalaraay Aborigines and means "long-nosed rat".

Answer: Very large saltwater clam

The geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck") is a very large edible clam found along the west coast of North America. As well as being one of the largest clams, they are also one of the longest living animals, as they have very few predators, and can live up to 150 years.

Their shells are from 15 centimetres to over 20 centimetres (5 in to 7.9 in) and their "neck" can grow to 1 metre (3.2 feet) in length. They weigh from 0.5 kg to 1.5 kg (1 to 3 pounds) but very large ones can weigh up to 7.5 kg (15 pounds)

They are a very popular food on the Asian market and are very expensive, selling for over $330 per kg ($150 per pound).

Answer: Large mammal shaped somewhat like a pig

A tapir (pronounced "ta-pier") is a mammal that inhabits forests and jungles of Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. They are shaped like a pig, with a short snout. There are four species of tapir and they are all on the endangered or vulnerable list. They are closely related to horses and rhinoceroses.

Their size varies but average 2 metres (6.5 foot) in length, stand 1 metre (3.2 feet) high at the shoulder, and weigh between 150 kg and 300 kg (330 pounds to 700 pounds). Their colour varies from reddish-brown to grey and nearly black. However the Malayan Tapir has a white saddle-shaped mark on its back. Baby tapir have striped/spotted coats, which help as camouflage.

Their nose, or proboscis, is very flexible and as it can move in all directions, allows them to reach foliage, which could normally be out of reach. Tapirs that live near rivers spend a lot of time in the water and sometimes sink and walk along the bottom, searching for food. Their main diet is fruit, berries, and leaves. They can live approximately 25 to 30 years.

Answer: A primate from India and Sri Lanka

The slender loris is a small, nocturnal primate that is native to India and Sri Lanka. Their habitat is tropical rainforests, swamps, and scrub and semi-deciduous forests. Because of the illegal pet trade, slender loris are under threat of extinction. It is illegal to trap them in some regions of India. The natives believe that the Slender Loris has medicinal or magic powers.

Slender loris are about the size of a chipmunk and have long very thin limbs. They are from 15-24cm (6-10 in) long, with a small tail. They weigh from 275-385g (10.5-12 oz). Their eyes are brown and very large and are surrounded by dark circles of fur. Their coat is grey-brown or red-brown with a whitish chest and belly.

The slender loris is arboreal and spends most of its life in the treetops. It feeds mainly on insects and vegetation, but will eat slugs, flowers or eggs. They are slow-moving so not to alert any prey.

They live on the average from 12 to 15 years.

Answer: Echidna

Baby echidnas are called puggles. Several puggles have been hand-raised in zoos in Australia. They lap small drops of milk from a keeper's palm, as the female echidna does not have nipples, but milk patches that appear on their skin for the babies to lap.

Echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters, are one of the only two monotremes in the world, both found in Australia. The other is the platypus. A monotreme is a mammal that lays eggs. Once fertilized, the female lays a single egg, which is kept in a pouch and hatches after approximately ten days. The puggle stays in the pouch for up to three months. The diet of echidnas consists of mainly ants and termites.

The adults are covered with coarse hair and spines, similar to the porcupine and hedgehog, and will roll into a ball when threatened. Their snouts are slender and elongated and they have no teeth. Their large-clawed short strong limbs enable them to dig for ants and their long, sticky tongue collect the ants.

Echidnas are approximately 30-45 cms long (13.5-17.5 inches) and can weigh up to 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds). In the wild they can live for about 20 years, but can live up to 40 years in captivity.

Answer: A mammal found in the Americas

A collared peccary is a mammal in the family tayssidae. They are also known as a musk hog, Mexican hog and a javelin. The animal is pig-like in appearance and, at the shoulder stands about half a metre tall (16-18 inches), and is about 1 to 1.5 metres long (40-60 inches). It is can weigh up to 27 kilograms (60 pounds). Their fur colour is grizzled grey and brown with a collar around its neck that is white to yellowish.

Their diet is mainly fruit, roots, nuts, berries, fungi and grasses. They will sometimes eat amphibians, reptiles and insects. They also like Prickly Pear and Agave plants. Where they live near humans they will eat cultivated crops and ornamental plants.

They live in groups of up to 20 members, but usually average from between six and nine. They will defend themselves with their long tusks.

Answer: A monkey

The red-shanked douc is native to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Because of its markings it is sometimes called the "costume ape". It has red-maroon "stockings" from is knees to its ankles, black hands and feet, with forearms that look like they are wearing white gloves. Its face is a golden colour with a white ruff, and powder blue eyelids. Its tail is white and males have a white spot on both sides of the rump. They also have pot bellies. The name "douc" (pronounced "dook") is Vietnamese for "monkey".

They sleep and feed in the trees and will jump from tree to tree. They live in troops which are led by adult males. They eat mostly leaves, but will also eat fruit, bamboo shoots, buds and flowers.

The red-shanked douc langur is long and slender. They range from 61 to 76 cm (2 to 2.5 foot) in height, males being slightly taller than females. Males weigh up to 7kg, and females up to 5kg (11-15 pounds). Their tales are between 56 and 76 cm (1.8 to 2 foot) long. Their life span is approximately 25 years.

The red-shanked douc langur is on the IUCN Red List of endangered species.

Answer: A wildcat

A caracal is a wild cat that lives in Africa, Central and South West Asia, and India. It is sometimes known as the desert lynx. It was first described in 1776 when one was found on Table Mountain in South Africa.

Caracals have a long tuft on the tips of their ears, which can exceed half the length of the ears. The colour of its fur is a uniform tawny-grey, or reddish, or frosted sandy, and its belly is white

They weigh between 8 to 20 kilograms (18 to 44 lb) and are from 75 to 106 cm (30 to 41 inches) long. Their tails are from 19.5 to 23.1 cm (9.1 to 13 inch) long.

They have a dark line running down the centre of their forehead to near the top of the nose and one running from the inner edge of each eye to the nostrils and they have a brownish patch over each eye.

Their habitat ranges from moist woodlands to open savannah, and from scrubland to semi-desert. They are carnivorous and have the ability to leap about 2 metres (6.6 feet) into the air to catch birds.

In the wild they live up to 12 years, and up to 17 years in captivity.

Answer: A hopping rodent

Jerboas are hopping desert rodents who live in Northern Africa and Asia and usually live in hot deserts. With their long tails, long hind legs and very short forelegs, they look somewhat like a very small kangaroo. They even get around like a kangaroo by hopping and using their tails for balance. Their tails are longer than their bodies. They have sandy-coloured fine fur and blend in with their surroundings. Some species have long ears, and some short.

They eat mainly plants but some species will eat beetles and insects. They are quite fast and can run up to 15 miles an hour when chased. They are nocturnal and live in burrows to shelter from the heat. They are relatively solitary and live from two to three years.

Answer: A mammal that eats ants

A pangolin, also known as a scaly anteater or trenggiling, is the only mammal that has keratin scales covering its body. Keratin is the same key structure material that makes up human hair, nails and skin. It lives in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, and there are eight species still in existence.

The scales are soft on a baby and grow harder as the animal ages, and the placing of the scales looks similar to an artichoke or pine-cone. The scales are sharp and when threatened the animal rolls into a ball with their armour protecting them. They have very long, sharp claws for digging out ants and termites, so they walk with their fore paws curled underneath to protect these long claws.

In size they range from 30 to 100 centimetres (12 to 39 inches), depending on the species. They have very long, thin tongues and they can be extended to 40 centimetres (16 inches). They are mostly nocturnal, but some species are active during the day. Some species are arboreal and live in hollow trees and the ground dwelling species dig underground tunnels. They have no teeth and cannot chew, and once they have torn open an anthill they use their long, sticky tongue to catch the ants.

The pangolin population is decreasing due to loss of habitat, and they are hunted in Africa for bush meat. In China, their meat is a delicacy, and there is some belief that their scales have medicinal usages.