Unusual Suspects Trivia Quiz

Answer: A red fox

Fox tracks are roughly shaped like a diamond and sometimes their claw marks are visible at the end of each toe. Although they are similar to dog footprints, fox prints are usually narrower. Dogs also tend to move around erratically, whereas foxes travel in straight lines. Red foxes live in a range of habitats around the world. From forests to deserts, they can adapt to almost any environment. Foxes have a reputation for being cunning and resourceful - lock up your gold!

Answer: A giant panda

Pandas don't normally wear glasses and scarves, but they do have black fur on their ears and around their eyes. A panda's bamboo diet doesn't generate enough energy for them to hibernate like other mammals. As a result, pandas are adapted to the changes in the environment around them.

Their white fur helps them to camouflage in snowy Chinese winters, while their black arms and legs keep them hidden in shady areas. The black markings around their eyes help them to recognise other pandas, too.

Answer: A brown pelican

Brown pelicans have long bills with a stretchy pouch in their throat. As seabirds, they usually use the pouch for catching fish (though that wasn't the case for this shoplifter caught on camera!). The featherless skin on the pelican's throat is called the gular pouch. Pelicans are not the only birds to have a gular pouch. Cormorants and frigatebirds have them, too, but for a different purpose.

In those birds, the pouch is used during courtship.

Answer: Chilean rose hair tarantula

Like most arachnids, tarantulas have eight legs: four on the left, four on the right. Their prints appear in two clusters of four with a gap between them that is the width of their body. That's up to 15cm for the Chilean rose hair tarantula. These tarantulas live in deserts and scrubland in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. Tarantulas can leave their footprints in the sand - an easy clue for a knowledgeable detective.

Answer: A poison dart frog

Poison dart frogs got their common name from the weapon their poison was used in. The indigenous Colombian Embera tribe used the frogs' poison on the tip of their darts, which were used in a blowgun for hunting. Poison dart frogs range from 1.5cm-6cm long, but contain enough poison to kill ten men.

Although they are incredibly dangerous, their bodies warn predators through aposematism. Most poison dart frogs have bright red or yellow skin, warning animals who may want to eat them.

Answer: Grey Seals

A large proportion of the world's grey seal population lives around the rocky shores of Scotland. They can, however, be found on many coastlines in the North Atlantic. Pregnant females often return to the same breeding sites to give birth. Grey seals don't actually need a passport to come ashore in Britain. In 1970 they were protected in Britain under the Conservation of Seals Act.

Answer: Praying mantis

Mr Kowalski needs to be careful. There are over 2,400 species of mantis and most of them are ambush predators. If a mantis is stationary, chances are it's waiting for something to kill. They eat live insects, like locusts and flies, though, so Mr K. will probably be OK with a praying mantis in the garden. Some female mantises also eat their mates after fertilisation.

Answer: A swordfish

That 'dangerous weapon' is the one coming out of the swordfish's snout. Marlins have rounded swords, but swordfish have flat ones. They are used to slash at prey, rather than stab them. Swordfish appears on menus around the world, but concerns around over-fishing have been raised.

The species has been added to Greenpeace's seafood red list, meaning that the fisheries they are sourced from have a very high risk of being unsustainable.

Answer: Koalas

Humans aren't the only animals with fingerprints. Many primates have ridges and whorls to provide grip when climbing. Koalas, though they are not primates, are also adapted for climbing in this way. Their fingerprints are almost indistinguishable from human prints.

As a result, it is possible that police work in Australia has been affected by koala prints at crime scenes, which have been mistaken for human ones.

Answer: Indian peafowl

Peafowl play an important role in Hindu mythology and the species is the national bird of India. Males are known as peacocks. They have bright blue bodies and a long train of feathers which end with colourful eyespots. Female peahens have green necks and brown tails. Even though they have huge tails, peafowl can still fly. Maybe that's how they escaped from the museum...