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A
group of lions is called a pride. A group of crows is
called a murder. A group of kangaroos is called a mob
(that’s a good one!). And a group of rhinoceroses
is called:
a. A crowd
b. A crash
c. A clan
d. A pack
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We all know that most fish can only breathe through their
gills. A human can breathe through its mouth and its nose.
A turtle, though, can breathe through its mouth, its nose
and its…
a. Tail
b. Shell
c. Butt
d. Eyes
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A penguin, which can’t fly, can jump up to 6 feet.
A kangaroo, known for its hopping ability can clear 10
feet. How high can an elephant jump?
a. 2 feet
b. 5 feet
c. 1 foot
d. 0 feet
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A blue whale’s tongue weighs more than an elephant,
or most of them anyway, and is so large that 50 people
could stand on it. A chameleon's tongue is as long as
its body and a giraffe can clean its ear with its 21-inch
tongue. But the poor crocodile cannot even stick its tongue
out because…
a. It is too short
b. It is attached to the roof of its mouth
c. It doesn’t have one
d. It would cut it on its sharp teeth
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For a lot of us it feels slightly awkward when we walk
or run backwards, but for the emus and kangaroos its not
just awkward, they can’t walk backwards at all.
There is an animal that has just the opposite problem
– it can’t swim forwards. It can only swim
backwards and it is a…
a. Eel
b. Electric fish
c. Sea Horse
d. Shrimp
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So your mom thinks you sleep a lot? Maybe compared to
an elephant, which only sleeps about 2 hours a day. The
sleepiest mammals, though, are the armadillos, sloths
and opossums. They spend 80 per cent of their lives sleeping
or dozing. A snail, though, wins the record for sleeping
the longest. A snail can sleep for…
a. 6 months at a time
b. Over a year
c. Up to three years
d. 2 months
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The Tuatara lizard of New Zealand has three eyes –
two in the centre of its head and one on top. Bees have
five eyes - three small ones on top of their head and
two larger ones in front. Many spiders have eight eyes;
a scorpion can have as many as 12 and the very poisonous
Box jellyfish have 24 eyes. But nothing compare to the
amazing little scallop, which has…
a. Up to 100 eyes around the edge of the shell
b. No eyes. A scallop can’t see
c. 2 eyes on the end of stalks like a crab
d. 36 eyes that only extend at night
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Your eyeball is about 1 inch in diameter. An ostrich’s
eye is about 2 inches in diameter, which is actually
bigger than its brain! The Thresher shark has an eyeball
up to 5 inches in diameter. Which animal has the largest
eyes in the world?
a. Owl
b. Tarsier monkey
c. Giant squid
d. Goliath frog
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Polar bears are left-handed. Dogs and cats, like humans,
often have a preference for either their right or left
paw as do monkeys, apes, rats and chimpanzees. Parrots,
another mighty intelligent animal is also said to have
a preference, a foot preference and it is…
a. For the left foot
b. For the right foot
c. 50-50 left and right footed
d. Ha! Psych! They don’t have a preference.
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Elephants have been known to remain standing after they
die. A chicken will run around after its head has been
cut off and a cockroach can survive for a week or more
without its head before dying of…
a. Blood loss
b. Lack of air
c. Bumping into things
d. Starvation.
Answers
- Ans.
B – A crash… go figure!
- Ans.
C – Not all turtles can breathe through their
butt, but a few "side-necked" turtles like the
Fitzroy River turtle from Australia can. Now there is a
super power to wish for!
- Ans.
D – They can’t jump. In fact it is
impossible for elephants to jump at all because of their
enormous weight and the structure of their feet. Humans
had better cut down on those big macs or they won’t
be jumping either!
- Ans.
B – A crocodiles tongue is attached to the
roof of its mouth and it cannot move it. That is why it
appears to gulp down its food.
- Ans.
D – A shrimp. Eels and electric fish are
very good at swimming forwards and backwards. The shrimp,
which has no fins, can only swim backwards. But that is
not the only weird thing about it – its heart is located
in its head!
- Ans.
C – Snails are real sleeping beauties. The
can, in the right circumstances, like a drought, sleep for
up to three years – without eating!
- Ans.
A – A scallop has between 50 and 100 eyes
around the edge of its shell that it uses to detect changes
in light levels and form images that gives advance warning
of predators.
- Ans.
C – The Giant squid’s eyeballs are
10-15 inches in diameter. That is the size of beach ball!
These massive organs allow them to detect objects in the
dim deep waters where most other animals would see nothing.
- Ans.
A – Although no one really understands it,
studies have shown that parrots have a left foot preference.
- Ans.
D – Starvation. Cockroaches breathe through
spiracles in each body segment and as the brain does not
control breathing, being headless does not interfere with
getting enough air. They do not have blood pressure the
way a mammal does and so cutting off its head does not lead
to uncontrolled bleeding. The cockroach is a cold-blooded
animal and needs much less food to survive. As long as it
does not get infected with mold or bacteria, which could
kill it prematurely, a headless cockroach would just sit
around and do not much of anything… for days!
Score
0
– 3
Hmmm. It might be time for you to go to the zoo…or
the aquarium…or maybe a farm… or I know…
have a look at what your little brother has hidden under
his bed!
4
– 7
Not bad, not bad! There is so much to learn about the crazy
world of Mother Nature!
8
– 10
Awesome! You are the king of the jungle – or at least
of weird animal facts!
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