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Trivia Questions Digest

Animal trivia questions

Twenty questions about the tallest, fastest and strangest animals, what their babies and groups are called, and what they really eat. Each answer adds one more fact worth sharing.

By Eren ŞimşirUpdated Answers checked How we write questions

0 of 20 answered · 0 correct

  1. Question 1

    Which is the tallest living animal?

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    Giraffe

    Male giraffes can reach about 5.5 meters. Their necks have seven vertebrae, the same number as ours.

  2. Question 2

    How many legs does a spider have?

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    Eight

    Spiders are arachnids, not insects. Insects have six legs and three body parts; spiders have eight legs and two.

  3. Question 3

    What is a baby kangaroo called?

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    A joey

    A newborn joey is about the size of a jellybean and crawls into its mother's pouch, where it stays for months.

  4. Question 4

    Which of these mammals lays eggs?

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    Platypus

    The platypus and the echidnas are the only living mammals that lay eggs. They are called monotremes.

  5. Question 5

    What is the largest species of fish?

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    Whale shark

    Whale sharks can reach around 18 meters and eat plankton. The blue whale is a mammal, not a fish.

  6. Question 6

    What do giant pandas eat for most of their diet?

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    Bamboo

    Bamboo makes up about 99% of a wild panda's diet, and a panda can spend 10 to 16 hours a day eating.

  7. Question 7

    Which bird can fly backward?

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    Hummingbird

    Hummingbirds rotate their wings in a figure-eight, which lets them hover, fly backward and even briefly upside down.

  8. Question 8

    What is a group of wolves called?

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    A pack

    A wolf pack is usually a family: a breeding pair and their offspring from the past few years.

  9. Question 9

    Which animal has the longest pregnancy?

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    African elephant

    Elephants carry their young for about 22 months. A newborn calf weighs about 100 kg.

  10. Question 10

    Which bird is the fastest animal on Earth in a dive?

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    Peregrine falcon

    Diving after prey, a peregrine falcon can exceed 300 km/h (over 186 mph), faster than any other animal.

  11. Question 11

    Which animal is known as the "ship of the desert"?

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    Camel

    Camels can go days without water. Their humps store fat, not water.

  12. Question 12

    How many arms does a typical starfish have?

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    Five

    Most sea stars have five arms, but some species have 20 or more. Many can regrow a lost arm.

  13. Question 13

    What is the largest species of penguin?

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    Emperor penguin

    Emperor penguins stand about 1.1 meters tall and breed during the Antarctic winter.

  14. Question 14

    About how many hours a day does a koala sleep?

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    18 to 22 hours

    Eucalyptus leaves give koalas very little energy, so they rest most of the day.

  15. Question 15

    What is a group of owls called?

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    A parliament

    Owls have long been linked with wisdom, which may explain the name. A murder is a group of crows.

  16. Question 16

    How many eyes does a honeybee have?

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    Five

    Two large compound eyes see shapes and colors, and three small simple eyes on top of the head sense light.

  17. Question 17

    What is the world's largest rodent?

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    Capybara

    Capybaras, from South America, can weigh over 60 kg and are excellent swimmers.

  18. Question 18

    What do we call an animal that eats both plants and meat?

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    Omnivore

    Bears, pigs, raccoons and humans are omnivores. Herbivores eat only plants; carnivores mainly meat.

  19. Question 19

    Which animal has the largest eyes of any known animal?

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    Colossal squid

    A colossal squid's eye can be about 27 cm across, roughly the size of a soccer ball.

  20. Question 20

    Which is the only mammal covered in hard scales made of keratin?

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    Pangolin

    Pangolins roll into a ball when threatened. An armadillo's shell is made of bony plates covered by skin.

Key numbers

Questions
20
Format
Multiple choice, 4 options
Explanations
Every question
Answers
Hidden until you open them

Records, names and odd abilities

Animal trivia works for every age because the answers are surprising but easy to remember: the bird that flies backward, the mammals that lay eggs, the animal with eyes the size of a soccer ball. We've mixed records (tallest, fastest in a dive, longest pregnancy) with name questions (a joey, a pack, a parliament) and questions about diets and bodies.

Easy, medium and hard

The first questions suit younger players and warm-up rounds; the later ones, like the colossal squid's eyes or the pangolin's scales, catch out adults who think they know animals well. For a family game, let children answer the easy ones aloud and adults take the rest.

Where the facts come from

Every answer was checked against a zoo, aquarium, museum or wildlife organization. Popular "facts" that turn out to be wrong, such as ostriches burying their heads, are left out of the quiz and explained in our guide to popular facts that are wrong.

More animals

Curious which animal matches your personality? Try the spirit animal quiz.

Octopuses, cheetahs, blue whales and bats appear in our science trivia, and the animals section of the fun facts page has random animal facts with sources, from cube-shaped wombat droppings to sea otters holding paws. Use them as tiebreakers or as a true-or-false round.

Questions people ask

What are some easy animal trivia questions?

What a baby kangaroo is called (a joey), how many legs a spider has (eight) and which animal is the tallest (the giraffe) are good warm-ups.

Which mammals lay eggs?

The platypus and the echidnas, a group called monotremes. They live in Australia and New Guinea.

What is the fastest animal on Earth?

In a hunting dive, the peregrine falcon, at over 300 km/h. On land, the cheetah is fastest in short sprints.

More trivia categories

Sources