Animal quiz
Record holders, strange survival tricks and animals you have probably never heard of. Ten questions about mammals, birds and life in the sea.
- Free
- 10 questions
- Answers included
- No sign-up
Play the quiz
Question 1 of 10
Which bear depends on sea ice to hunt seals?
Show answer
The answer is Polar Bear. Polar bears rely on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals.
Question 2 of 10
Which songbird runs a macabre pantry, impaling prey on thorns like a tiny butcher?
Show answer
The answer is Loggerhead Shrike. The Loggerhead Shrike caches insects, lizards, and even mice on thorns or barbed wire, creating a larder for later. That grisly pantry lets a small hooked-billed songbird process tough prey despite relatively weak feet.
Question 3 of 10
Which jelly-lookalike shimmers rainbow from beating rows of tiny hairs, yet isn't a true jellyfish?
Show answer
The answer is Comb jelly. Comb jellies are ctenophores, not cnidarian jellyfish. Their rainbow shimmer comes from light diffracting off moving rows of cilia used for swimming.
Question 4 of 10
Which sea creature blasts out slime that can choke a shark's gills mid-bite?
Show answer
The answer is Hagfish. Hagfish eject mucin and protein threads that puff into a vast goo, clogging a predator's gills in moments. Sharks gag and release while the hagfish knots its body to wipe off the slime and slip away.
Question 5 of 10
Which big cat is the strongest swimmer?
Show answer
The answer is Tiger. Tigers regularly swim long distances and are the strongest swimmers among the big cats.
Question 6 of 10
Which bird dazzles Peru’s cloud forests with a disk-like crest at raucous leks?
Show answer
The answer is Andean Cock-of-the-rock. Male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock gather at leks, flashing a bright orange disk-like crest in courtship.
Question 7 of 10
Which crab wields anemones like boxing gloves?
Show answer
The answer is Boxer crab. Also called the pom-pom crab, Lybia species carry tiny anemones in their claws to fend off foes and sweep food; the anemones get transport and leftovers.
Question 8 of 10
Which snake packs the longest fangs and a huge venom yield for an ambush bite?
Show answer
The answer is Gaboon viper. Gaboon vipers hide in leaf litter with fangs up to 5 cm and deliver massive venom doses in lightning strikes.
Question 9 of 10
Which rock-sitter is the elephant’s tiny cousin with rubbery feet?
Show answer
The answer is Rock hyrax. Rock hyraxes are Afrotherians, kin to elephants and manatees; their moist pads grip rock like suction cups.
Question 10 of 10
Which tiny seabird literally smells its dinner, tracking plankton 'perfume' across open ocean?
Show answer
The answer is Wilson's storm-petrel. Wilson's storm-petrel homes in on dimethyl sulfide, the 'plankton perfume' released when zooplankton graze algae. As a tubenose, it uses an exceptional sense of smell to pinpoint feeding hotspots over featureless seas.
10 more animal questions with answers
Which deep-sea fish is the most common?
Answer: Lanternfish. Lanternfish are the most common deep-sea fish, making up 65% of deep-sea biomass.
Which ocean oddball stuns prey by snapping its claw to unleash a shockwave that knocks prey senseless?
Answer: Pistol shrimp. By snapping its oversized claw, the pistol shrimp creates a cavitation bubble that collapses with a shockwave and tiny flash. The burst’s sudden pressure stuns nearby prey long enough to grab them.
Which big cat native to the Russian Far East is Critically Endangered?
Answer: Amur Leopard. The Amur leopard’s small wild population occurs mainly in the Russian Far East and adjacent China.
Which backyard jay flops onto ant hills for a formic-acid spa treatment?
Answer: Blue Jay. Blue Jays practice 'anting,' letting ants douse them with formic acid that may help control feather parasites.
Which sly cephalopod pulls off lionfish and sea snake impressions to throw off predators?
Answer: Mimic octopus. The mimic octopus changes shape and pattern to impersonate venomous neighbors. It fans its arms to resemble a lionfish or hides six arms and stripes two to mimic a banded sea snake.
Which crustacean packs the animal kingdom’s fastest punch, enough to shatter aquarium glass?
Answer: Mantis shrimp. Mantis shrimp swing club-like limbs with blistering speed, creating cavitation bubbles that add a second shockwave, powerful enough to smash shells and even crack aquarium glass.
Which forest “zebra” is actually a giraffe’s only living cousin?
Answer: Okapi. Okapi and giraffe are the only living giraffids; the okapi’s stripes help it vanish in dim rainforest light.
Which seabird rides storms for days and holds the record for the widest wingspan among living birds?
Answer: Wandering albatross. The wandering albatross reaches about 3.7 m (12 ft) across and uses dynamic soaring to span vast Southern Ocean winds. It can roam thousands of kilometers with barely a flap.
What are coral reefs made of?
Answer: Tiny animals called polyps. Coral reefs are made of tiny animals called polyps that build calcium carbonate skeletons.
Which ocean oddball dodges predators by ejecting its own guts, then grows them back?
Answer: Sea cucumber. Many sea cucumbers can blast out sticky internal organs to snare or distract predators. They later regenerate the lost parts, an extreme defense called evisceration.
About this animal quiz
The questions come from four DoYouKno topics: wild mammals, birds of the world, marine life and animal oddities.
Nature is full of surprises, which is what makes it good quiz material. Every answer comes with a short explanation.
More than 6,000 questions, duels and a new quiz every day.
Play free on iPhone, Android or right here in your browser.
More quizzes
Science quizSpace, chemistry, inventions and myths.
General knowledge quizTen easy questions from every corner of the game.
Food quizDishes, drinks and spices from around the world.
Flag quizName 10 flags from every continent, from easy to hard.
Capitals quizTen capital cities, plus every capital in Europe.
Geography quizMountains, lakes, landmarks and borders.