Night Vision Goggles at the Ready... Quiz

Answer: Aardwolf

There are only four species of the family Hyaenidae left alive today. They are split into bone-crusing hyenas and dog-like hyenas with the aardwolf being the only member of the dog-like subfamily. The other three species are bone-crushers, and are (in order of ascending size) the striped hyena, the brown hyena and the spotted hyena.

Aardwolves can only be found in Africa, predominantly in the east and south of the continent. You may think that the name of the aardwolf is similar to that of the aardvark, this is because both names are derived from the Southern African language of Afrikaans. Aardwolf means 'earth wolf', while aardvark means 'earth pig'.

Answer: Kakapo

The kakapo generally has yellow-green plumage, and is also recognisable by the 'whiskers' that can be found around its beak. These vibrissae, as they are formally known, are used by the kakapo to help navigate the forest floor, and they generally walk with their heads lowered to the ground. They often find food by foraging on the ground and have a particularly acute sense of smell for a bird. Unfortunately the kakapo is listed as critically endangered, and as of 2012 only 126 individuals were known.

The kiwi is a national symbol of New Zealand, and is so well known that the people of New Zealand are often referred to as 'kiwis', as are New Zealand dollars when being traded on currency markets. Despite being flightless and also nocturnal, the kiwi is not a member of the parrot family and so could not be the correct answer here.

Answer: Pangolin

There are eight species of pangolin, around half of which can be found in Southeast Asia, including the Indian pangolin and the Philippine pangolin. The remaining species, including the giant pangolin and the tree pangolin, can be found across tropical regions in Africa, particularly in the west.

Pangolins are hunted both in Africa and in Asia (mostly China) for their meat, which had led to several species becoming protected by law. Demand is also high in China due to the belief that the scales of the pangolin can be a cure for various diseases, including cancer.

Answer: Jerboa

The relatives of the jerboa mentioned in the question were the mice and rats found in London underground stations, and beavers found in Canada. All of these fall under the order of Rodentia, or rodents. A jerboa looks somewhat like a cross between a mouse and a kangaroo, and in fact their closest relatives are the jumping mice of the Zapodinae subfamily. They move around by hopping, in a similar fashion to a kangaroo, using their lengthy hind legs and even lengthier tail to hop and balance respectively.

There are many species of jerboa that can be found in various hot deserts around the world. Several of these are the Gobi jerboa and the Greater Egyptian jerboa.

Answer: Tarsier

Tarsiers are one of the oddest proportioned primates on the planet. Not only do they have eyes which are the same size as their brain, they also have legs that are around twice as long as their head and torso combined and middle fingers that are the same length as their upper arm! Excluding the tail they are generally no more than 45cm in length, but the smallest species, the pygmy tarsier, has a head and body length of around 10 cm.

Tarsiers also hold the distinction of being the only primates alive today that are entirely carnivorous. Although they mostly feed on insects, they have also been known to prey on snakes and bats if they are available.

Answer: Great horned owl

Great horned owls are widespread across the Americas. So much so that there are now twelve subspecies, ranging from the North Andean to the Yucatan great horned owls. In fact they can be found in almost any habitat, including tropical rainforests, deserts and even subarctic tundra. It is generally regarded to be the heaviest owl in both South and Central America, although it is only second in North America, losing out to the closely related snowy owl.

The great horned owl has been known to eat almost any small or medium mammal. This mostly consists of obvious food sources such as rabbits and mice, although they can also consume armadillos, weasels and porcupines if neccessary.

Answer: Kinkajou

The kinkajou is also known as the 'honey bear'. This name was given to them as whenever kinkajous are kept in captivity they have been observed to avidly eat honey. This behaviour has never been observed in the wild, although they have been seen to lick nectar from flowers and most of their diet consists of ripe fruit, so the kinkajou definitely has a sweet tooth.

Kinkajous are common across over half of South America. However, they are rarely seen by humans. This is attributed to their strictly nocturnal attitude. Despite the fact that there is no immediate concern over kinkajou populations, they are hunted for their use as pets, and also for their fur. This has led to Honduras enforcing the need for a permit to export these animals.

Answer: Paradoxical frog

Surely the paradoxical frog is one of the best-named animals in the whole of the animal kingdom? The giant tadpoles can reach up to 25cm in length, before becoming an average sized frog which is only around a quarter of the length that it was before. The paradoxical frog can be found in northern Argentina, in the Brazilian rainforest and as far north as the Caribbean island of Trinidad.

Research in 2008 by the Universities of Ulster and the United Arab Emirates suggested that pseudin-2, a compound found in the skin of the paradoxical frog could potentially be used to help treat type-2 diabetes as it triggered the artificial production of insulin in the lab.

Answer: Slow loris

There are considered to be eight different species of slow lorises, the northernmost of which is the Bengal slow loris which can be found in Bangladesh, Northern India and parts of China. The range of the slow loris extends as far south as the Indonesian island of Java, where the endangered Javan slow loris is found.

The reason that several species of slow loris are endangered is twofold. Firstly, large parts of their habitat has been lost over the last few decades. Secondly, they are a popular exotic pet in the international wildlife trade market. Although many specimens have been taken to zoos, most species do not thrive there. An exception to this is the spread of pygmy slow lorises across American zoos, mostly being born in San Diego.

Answer: Spectacled bear

The spectacled bear or Andean bear is found throughout the upper half of the Andes mountain range. They are known for being fairly adaptable and can live anywhere between the 250m above sea level foothills to the 5000m above sea level snow line. Spectacled bears are the last remaining species of short-faced bears after the Florida spectacled bear became extinct around 11,000 years ago.

The bears get their name from the markings on their face, where they typically have an area of light coloured hair around the eyes, and also on the chest and neck. They mostly live in trees, and often build platforms on which they can rest and store food.