The Code To The Door Is An Animal Pass-Word Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first door you arrive at boasts a plaque that states "This is the fastest animal in the world!". You expect to see a cheetah but when you glance over it's a bird! What is the animal?

Answer: Peregrine falcon

In a dive out of the sky to catch prey, the peregrine falcon can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour! Made for speed, they have streamlined bodies, strong chest muscles, and a long wingspan. They live on all continents except Antarctica. They prefer open country but also live along waterways and even on the tops of buildings in cities.

Its primary food consists of others birds that it strikes in a swift dive from its high flight altitude. These falcons mate for life and usually lay around 3-4 eggs in the nest found on high cliffs or ledges.

2. You have passed the first door with the right animal code and have made it to the second! The plaque states "This mammal sleeps more hours per day than any other animal." You're almost jealous of this marsupial as you glance at the photo. What is it?

Answer: Koala

When Europeans first came to Australia, home of the koala, they thought they looked like bears and labeled them as such. Actually, they are marsupials who carry their young in a pouch. Koalas sleep almost 22 hours of every day! Their main diet consists of eucalyptus leaves and rumors circulated that the leaves had a drug-like effect on the animals.

The real reason they sleep so much is that the leaves are low in nutrition and high in fiber and it takes quite a bit of energy to digest. Therefore, the koala sleeps to reserve that energy. Koalas grow to about 20 pounds, live 20 years in the wild, and get their food and water from the eucalyptus leaves on the tree in which it lives.

3. You head to the next door and read the sign which states "This is the world's strongest animal!" You look over at the photo and note that it is an insect that can pull over 1,100 times its own body weight. What is it?

Answer: Dung beetle

Dung beetles live around the world and feed off the liquid found within manure left behind by other animals, usually herbivores. They are strong fliers and travel around looking for dung. Once they find some, they then fall into one of three categories: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. Rollers form the manure into balls and roll them away utilizing incredible strength for their size. Tunnelers burrow into the middle of the dung and dwellers live on top of it to feed and raise young. Very important in the ecosystem for their recycling capabilities, dung beetles, known as scarabs, were highly esteemed by the ancient Egyptians.

4. You go to the next door opening and race up to the placard. This time it says "This is the world's largest rodent". You look over at the picture and it does not appear to be any kind of mouse you have ever seen! What is it?

Answer: Capybara

Capybaras are the world's largest rodents, considerably larger than their cousin the guinea pig. A capybara is about 150 pounds and is almost 1 1/2 feet tall. They live in Central and South America and spend much of their time in water as they are excellent swimmers and eat large amounts of aquatic plants. Like other rodents, their teeth never stop growing so they spend much of their time gnawing on bark and other materials.

They live in small family groups and can actually stay underwater for up to five minutes to avoid predators such as caimans and harpy eagles.

5. You stroll forward to the next door and notice there is a skull and crossbones symbol over the sign which says "This is the world's most venomous animal!". From the picture, it definitely appears to be aquatic. What is it?

Answer: Box jellyfish

Box jellyfish live in the coastal areas around North Australia and in the Indo-Pacific region. They are a bluish, transparent color and have a box-like bell, giving them their name. They can grow up to 15 tentacles and each tentacle has around 5,000 stinging cells on it.

These cells unleash a venom that paralyzes the heart and nervous system. The jellyfish use their 24 eyes to scan for food such as prawns and small fish. They are also the only jellyfish that can propel itself through the water and travel at four miles per hour.

6. You are halfway through your voyage of doors when you come to the next one. The sign states "Based on the number of olfactory receptor genes, this animal is the best at detecting smells!" You glance at the photo and don't seem surprised. What is it?

Answer: African elephant

African elephants have almost 2,000 genes dedicated to sensing smells. In contrast, humans have around 396 of these olfactory receptors (ORs). Elephants are the biggest land animals on earth and the African elephant can get up to 14,000 pounds and grow 13 feet high. One of their distinctive features is their long nose, or trunk.

This trunk, with its 40,000 muscles, is used to breathe, to pick things up, to trumpet, and to smell. The elephant relies on various scents in things like foraging for food, social communication, and mating.

7. You are feeling pretty good and there is almost a spring in your step as you jump to the next door. Speaking of jumping, the placard is engraved with "This animal has the best jumping ability in comparison to its size than any others!" You look at the picture. What is this insect?

Answer: Flea

A flea is a small insect that relies on jumping rather than flying to travel. They have four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and biting adult. They feed on the blood of whatever host they are on, which can include humans, reptiles, birds, etc. They can jump 220 times longer than their own length and can jump 150 times higher than their body. That is equivalent to a human jumping up 820 feet or jumping 1,300 feet away. Fleas can often be found on household pets, so it is advised to keep your pets on anti-flea medication, to watch for any irritation, and to check for fleas with a flea comb.

8. This door has a large poster next to it stating "This animal, in terms of pounds per square inch, has the strongest bite force around!" You look at the picture and shudder to think of the creature clamping down on you. What is it?

Answer: Saltwater crocodile

"Salties" as they are called by Australians, are saltwater crocodiles that live in parts of Australia, India, and Asia. They can grow to be well over 1,000 pounds and stretch out 17 feet long. They are great swimmers and prefer wet and marshy habitats whether its fresh, brackish, or even ocean water.

They hide right beneath the surface of the water and then lunge out to attack their prey which ranges from wild boar to sharks to water birds. Their bite force is tremendous, measuring 7700 PSI (pressure of a single force put on a square inch of surface) which compares with a human's PSI of around 150.

9. You guess that you must be getting close to reaching the last of these doors and slow down. Coincidentally, the plaque next to the door says "This animal is the slowest moving animal on earth with an average speed of .003 miles per hour!". You take a peek at the photo. What is the slow creature?

Answer: Three-toed sloth

Sloths live in the trees in rain forests in Central and South America. They move so slowly that algae actually grows on their fur and helps give them a greenish tint that camouflages them in the canopy! Two- and three-toed sloths have long claws that aid them in hanging in the branches.

They sleep up to 19 hours a day and eat leaves and plants during the night. Barely on the ground at all, a sloth typically only travels about 100 feet in a 24 hour period. They do have a unique ability to turn their head almost 270 degrees to look around for potential predators.

10. You have finally reached the last coded door. This one is a grim portal to pass through as it says "This animal has killed more human beings per year than any other!" You look at the photo with your mind full of large, giant creatures and are surprised when you see an insect. What is it?

Answer: Mosquito

Mosquitos are small insects with six legs and wings that fly short distances looking for food. Males feed on fruit and nectar but a female will also feed on blood to nourish her eggs. She will bite with a long, pointed part of her mouth and suck the blood up from the host.

They feed night and day and use heat sensing capability to detect the warmth of the blood in the capillaries of their target. When the mosquito bites, it also injects a small amount of saliva into the bloodstream which can cause the "itchy" feeling humans get.

Unfortunately, this saliva can also contain parasites which morph into illness and viruses such as malaria and West Nile virus. Each year, around 725,000 people die of illnesses caused via a mosquito bite!

Source: Author stephgm67

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor guitargoddess before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

You find yourself in front of a series of doors. Each door has a plaque with a clue and a picture of an animal. See if you can get through the gateways!

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>