Locate a Lucky Lagomorph Limb Trivia Quiz

Answer: four incisors (teeth)

Pikas have round bodies, large round ears, and no tails. Their rear legs are not designed for the jumping that rabbits and hares can do. But all lagomorphs have four incisors: two pairs, one right behind the other. Pikas do have fewer molars, however.

Pikas form the Ochotonidae family, while rabbits and hares are part of the Leporidae family.

Answer: cold mountains/steppes

Pikas require a relatively cold climate, usually near the top of mountains, above the tree line. They have a high body temperature 104.2°F (40.1°C), but they can overheat if they get above 109.6°F (43.1°C). Due to this narrow temperature range, pikas could be in trouble if global warming worsens.

Answer: hay

Pikas do not hibernate and rely on food stores to get them through the winter. They spend the summer months cutting grasses and plants, then drying them to make hay to store for the winter. Each pika will make about 50 pounds (23 kg) of hay, about the size of a hay bale, and store their food in multiple caches.

Some pikas will even use rocks to keep their drying grasses from blowing away.

Answer: condition of newborns

Generally, hares are larger and build above ground nests, while rabbits are smaller and dig burrows, but there are exceptions. The largest breed of rabbit is the Continental giant, which can reach four feet tall.

Rabbit kits are born hairless and blind at birth, while hare leverets are born with fur and can see right away.

Answer: hares

As a small herbivore, lagomorphs play a vital role in most food chains as a food source for smaller predators.

Rabbits and pikas will hide in their burrows to escape predators, but hares don't usually have such underground escape routes. Instead, they attempt to outrun their pursuers, usually changing directions constantly.

Answer: are active at dawn and dusk

Most rabbits, hares, and pikas are active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. This is extremely important for pikas, which can easily overheat during the day.

Some are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night.

Answer: feces

The fibrous herbivore diet of a lagomorph is difficult to digest, at least the first time around.

Food initially passes all the way to the colon, then back to the cecum where "hindgut fermentation" occurs. It is then eliminated (4-8 hours after eating) as soft, moist pellets and re-ingested in order to properly absorb nutrients. This second digestion results in small, hard pellets.

Answer: Australia

While a few rabbits were introduced when the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, in 1859, two dozen rabbits were released by Thomas Austin, who gets most of the blame for the current "rabbit problem".

Many attempts have been made to get the rabbit population under control, from a continent-long fence built in 1907, to poison and biological weapons.

Answer: jackalope

Richard E. Shope discovered the Shope papilloma virus in 1933 which causes cancerous "horns" to grow out of the body and face of rabbits, sometimes to the point where eating or movement is impacted. This is the first example of a mammalian tumor virus, a field of study that has resulted in human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines.

Douglas Herrick (1920-2003) created the jackalope taxidermy mount in the 1930s. The word is a combination of "jackrabbit" and "antelope", though deer antlers are normally used.

Answer: Japan

Ōkunoshima (also known as Usagi Shima, "Rabbit Island") is located in the Inland Sea of Japan, and ferries bring tourists to the Poison Gas museum and to meet the rabbits.

While rabbits were used in animal studies while the chemical munitions plant was in operation, the current rabbits are descendants of ones intentionally set loose after World War II and are not related to any rabbits used while the facility was active.