Animal Quiz & Trivia

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By Linda | May 11, 2008

1. In South Africa they race me instead of horses or dogs. I like to swallow shiny things - in fact, one of my species was found to have swallowed 53 diamonds! I am used to heard sheep in South Africa. What animal am I?

2. There are prehistoric animals that have survived to the present day while remaining relatively unchanged. Which of the following animals fits this description? a. crocodile b. platypus c. turtle

3. Although I have not been observed in my natural habitat, I am a species that is living today. I possess the largest eyes in the animal kingdom - they are the size of hubcaps! My mouth is a powerful parrot-like beak and my tongue has teeth on it. I may grow to over 75 feet in length and weigh several tons. What am I?

4. For 40 years, Pelorous Jack guided hundreds of ships through a dangerous pass in New Zealand. What sort of animal was Pelorous Jack?

**For quiz answers see bottom of post

Here are some fascinating bits of trivia about the animal kingdom:

When a ship sank 600 miles south of the Philippines, a woman was kept afloat for two days by a sea turtle until she was rescued.
Emperor penguins have been known to incubate stones because their parental instincts are so strong.
Snakes sometimes travel down an incline by leaping vertically all the way to the bottom.
Pigeons are so clever that some have been trained to inspect parts in factories and remove the defective pieces.
In Scotland, a sheep survived 50 days buried in a snowdrift, chewing on its own wool for protein.
A cat fell from the 20th floor of a building and lived. Its only injury was a pelvic fracture.
The monitor lizard can be a rock climber’s friend. With a rope tied around it, the lizard can scale a wall, find a crack and crawl in. It so tightly wedges itself that that the rock climber can use the attached rope to scale the wall.
A Black Minorca chicken laid the world’s largest chicken egg - 12 1/2 inches long.
Swordfish have been known to ram their swords into small boats, sinking them.
Fish, some as large as 9 inches long, fell from the skies in Marsville, Louisiana. They were probably drawn into the clouds by a powerful updraft or tornado.