Think you’re a real animal expert? With so many creatures (and so many facts about each and every one of them), there’s bound to be a fun factoid or two with which you’re not yet familiar. As our last quiz showed us, sometimes we don’t know quite as much about them as we think. See where you fall on the spectrum of animal knowledge (and have yourself a few laughs) by answering these questions.
1. On average, a woodpecker can peck how many times per second?
A) About 5
B) 10 to 25 C) About 1,000 D) The same amount of wood a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
(Answer: B, 10 to 25)
If we’re talking about an industrious woodpecker and not some character like Woody who just sits around laughing like a fool all day, a woodpecker can drum around 10 to 25 pecks, or bouts, per second, according to PLOS One. “Drumming,” which is a series of bouts, creates the noise that some experts believe certain woodpeckers may make to mark their territory and/or attract a mate.
2. What do butterflies taste with?
A) Their antennae
B) Their feet
C) Their wings
D) A spork
(Answer: B, Their feet)
Most adult butterflies can’t bite or chew, but they still need to know which plants are safe to lay their eggs on so their future caterpillars have food to eat. The butterflies determine this via the taste sensors located in their feet, according to the San Diego Zoo. These good taste sensors in their feet are also what keep them from wearing socks with Crocs.
3. How many joints does a spider have in its legs?
A) 8
B) 16
C) 48
D) Sorry, stopped reading when I saw “spider,” because OMG SPIDER.
(Answer: C, 48)
Most of us know that a spider has eight legs, but did you know that each one of those hairy legs has six joints? Yep, 48 joints in its legs, and though you might think of them all as knees, each joint actually has its own name, according to research conducted by King's College and the Zoological Laboratory of Cambridge University. That’s why it takes males so long to propose. The joints are considered an “evolutionary milestone,” because without them, arthropods like the spider wouldn’t be able to move. Of course, Little Miss Muffet would have been just fine with that.
4. What is the red fox’s binomial name?
A) Vulpes vulpes
B) Wacka wacka
C) Pago pago
D) Larry
(Answer: A, Vulpes vulpes)
A red fox is from the genus Vulpes and the species vulpes, Encyclopaedia Brittannica says. If you already knew that, stop reading this quiz and get back to work at your zoologist job! Red foxes are found all over the world and live in forests, grasslands, mountains and deserts. They would also prefer it if humans started saying, “Sly as a Vulpes vulpes,” because it’s just sounds so much cooler.
5. What do male Gentoo penguins give female Gentoo penguins when proposing marriage?
A) A diamond ring that cost two months' salary
B) A piece of ice that cost two months' salary
C) A regurgitated fish
D) The prettiest pebble they can find
(Answer: D, The prettiest pebble they can find)
Just like humans, male Gentoo penguins propose with a rock. Only in this case, it’s literally a rock, Zoo News Digest says. Like, one they pick up from the ground, not from the mall. In a show of real sweetness, gentleman penguins search through piles and piles of stones to find the nicest one for their lady penguins. Awwww. It’s like they always say: Every penguin kiss begins with P(ebbles).
6. A group of pandas is called what?
A) A pandemonium
B) A pandahandler
C) An embarrassment
D) A humiliation
(Answer: C, An embarrassment)
Groups of pandas, called embarrassments, according to Collective Nouns, were maybe given this name after they tried to kiss their teenage pandas goodbye at school drop-off. But mostly likely, the name “embarrassment” is one of those old strange names that nobody can quite explain, like “murder of crows.” So hold your heads high, pandas! You do you!
7. What is Scotland’s national animal?
A) A unicorn
B) A sheep
C) A Loch Ness monster
D) A unicorn riding a sheep riding a Loch Ness monster
(Answer: A, A unicorn)
Okay, we all know a unicorn isn’t real, right? And despite it being the national animal of Scotland, Scots know that, too. (Nessie? Well, the jury’s still out on her reality.) This country has a strong love and history of myth and legend, so a unicorn kind of fits. In fact, the unicorn has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century.
8. True or false: Some turtles can breathe through their rear ends.
A) True
B) False
(Answer: A, True)
Now, it’s important to know that certain turtles don’t have to breathe out of their bottoms — they can breathe through their mouths, too. But some of them still use an opening in their back ends, Discovery says, because it uses little energy when a turtle is hibernating, which it can do for up to five months.
