Where the Wild Things Are Trivia Quiz

Answer: Antelope

The common eland is native to southern Africa. Standing on average 5' tall at the shoulder, they weigh on average 1000 lbs. The only antelope larger than the common eland is the giant eland. Its scientific name translates to 'bull goat pickaxe'. It has a dark tan coat, forehead fur, a tuft of hair growing from the ears and males have a large dewlap on their throats. Tightly spiralled horns are prized as trophies by hunters. Eland are able to take most of their water from their food and are generally browsers as opposed to grazers, meaning they feed on leaves, shoots and fruit of shrubs.The first mention of the eland was in 1766 by zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.

Answer: Frog

The spotted snout-burrower, also known as the spotted shovelnose frog, is indigenous to South Africa and Swaziland. They are burrowing frogs and live mostly underground. This, coupled with the fact that they have hard upturned noses and the fact that they burrow head first as opposed to feet first like many other burrowing frogs gives rise to their name.

They tend to inhabit rivers, canals and moist savanna, but are finding their existence threatened by increasing urbanisation.

Answer: Bird

The hoopoe is a small bird with cinnamon, black and white colouring. It has a slightly curved beak and a distinct long crest on its head which is raised when the bird is alarmed. The hoopoe's name imitates its call. In terms of diet, it generally eats insects, but will eat reptiles, frogs and berries too. Hoopoe have been mentioned in literature as far back as Ancient Greece in Aristophanes comedy "The Birds" and Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and it was chosen as the national bird of Israel in 2008, although these were possibly the Eurasian hoopoe.

A further species exists too, the Madagascan hoopoe.

Answer: Fish

The Cape Galaxias is a small silver freshwater fish, generally around 6 cm long. It has no scales and is found in cool water streams, ponds and lakes. Galaxias are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, but 'Galaxias zebratus' is the sole member of the species found on the African continent.

As a species, they are threatened by exotic salmonid species like trouts with which these bodies of water have been stocked.

Answer: Snake

The rinkhals is also known as the ring-necked spitting cobra. It is a venomous snake with a dark belly and two light coloured bands on the throat. The rinkhals is ovoviviparous which is unique amongst African cobras, giving birth to as many as thirty offspring at a time.

It eats mainly toads, but will eat other snakes and small mammals. It is a spitting snake, spraying neurotoxic venom. They are generally found in grassland, but can be found in swamps too.

Answer: Bird

The Cape francolin, also known as the Cape spurfowl is part of the pheasant family. It is a medium sized bird marked with fine grey and white wavy lines and has red legs. It is found in scrub land areas in the southwestern Cape and can become very tame.

There are approximately forty different species of francolin in the world. A number are endemic to Asia and the rest can all be found in Africa.

Answer: Cat

The caracal is a wild cat, medium sized, with species found in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India. The common caracal and Transvaal caracal are endemic to South Africa. It has a sandy coat, standing 20 inches at the shoulder and weighing as much as 40 lbs.

It is a nocturnal carnivore which feeds on birds, rodents and small mammals. It was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. The name 'caracal' is taken from two Turkic words, 'kara' meaning 'black' and 'kulak' meaning 'ear'.

Answer: Antelope

Two species of kudu exist, the greater and lesser. The lesser kudu is found in eastern Africa, but the greater kudu is endemic to South Africa. It is a large foraging antelope, standing at 160 cms at the shoulder. They have unusually coloured coats, which range from reddish brown to blue grey and have a number of vertical white stripes along their torsos.

They have large round ears and bulls have long spiralled horns, while cows are hornless. The horns, with two and half twists, are prized among trophy hunters.

Answer: Fish

Labeo is a genus of carp with 104 recognised species. The moggel is a freshwater fish which occurs in a number of South African rivers, predominantly the Orange River, but also found in the Vaal, Oliphants and Limpopo Rivers. Like most carp, they can be found in muddy dams and stagnant water.

Answer: Frog

The common caco is also known as Boettger's dainty frog and is a common species of frog found in South Africa. It was named in 1882 by George Albert Boulenger, a Belgian-British zoologist. It feeds on a number of different insects, notably termites and mosquitoes and inhabits a wide variety of different habitats.

It prefers areas with short vegetation and watercourses. During the dry season, the caco hides under logs and debris, but heavy rains cause them to emerge in large numbers.