Can You Ace This Basic Animal Trivia Quiz?

By: Ashley Ehman
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Ace This Basic Animal Trivia Quiz?
Image: Jamie Garbutt / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

There are a variety of professions that involve animals, from your friendly neighborhood zookeeper to the manager at your local kennel. People in careers like these are likely to have a broader knowledge of certain animals than the average Joe. These individuals would be considered experts in their field. Guess what? This quiz isn't made for animal experts. This quiz is made for those people who sometimes watch the Animal Planet network, have seen parts of "Planet Earth" or find themselves perusing their kid's animal books. If you're the kind of person who finds themselves knowing a fair amount about commonly discussed animals, then this quiz is for you!

Are you still not sure if you should take this quiz? Do you know what a baby horse is called? Or what a Labrador Retriever's average life expectancy is? What about which animal has the shortest memory span? If you could answer any of these questions without hesitation, it's time to go through the 35 questions of this quiz! Will you come out on top, or will you find yourself in the dog house? Let's find out once and for all if you can ace this basic animal trivia quiz!

25 hippo The name of which African animal means "river horse"?
Hippopotamus
While it might seem like hippopotamuses would be more closely related to elephants or water buffaloes, they are actually considered cetaceans! This means they are more closely related to whales.
Crocodile
Water buffalo
Camel

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17 koala Eucalyptus leaves make up the majority of which animal's diet?
Koala
Koalas eat so many eucalyptus leaves that they even smell like eucalyptus! In a single day, one koala can eat more than two pounds of the leaf, forcing them to travel tree to tree until they are satiated.
Wombat
Red Panda
Giraffe

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16 elephant This animal is poached for their ivory. What animal is it?
Narwhals
Antelope
Elephant
An elephant's ivory tusks are directly related to their age. Elephants with larger tusks are older and more mature. However, it is still possible for an elephant without tusks to be an older adult, as female Asian elephants do not grow them.
Water buffalo

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14 bald eagle What bird is the national emblem of the United States?
Great horned owl
Turkey
Cardinal
Bald eagle
Bald eagles mate for life, meaning they stay with a single mate. Each mating pair can produce up to three eggs in a year, but the chances of all three of them surviving are slim to none.

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24 bat Which animal is known to use echolocation?
Elephant
Bat
Bats use echolocation to find food in the dark. By sending out a shrill noise, they can tell where objects are based on how the noise changes. This skill helps them eat as many as 1,200 mosquitoes in one hour!
Rattlesnake
Mackerel

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7 owl Which animal is able to rotate its head 270 degrees?
Hamster
Horse
Owl
To allow their heads to move in such a way, owls have a blood collection system that stashes blood. In doing so, the eyes and the brain remain attached to a blood supply while the bird rotates its head.
Rat

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15 hummingbird Which species of bird is the only one that can fly backwards?
Toucan
Hummingbird
The hummingbird family contains the smallest bird in existence — the bee hummingbird. The bird is so small that their body weight does not even equal the weight of half a nickel.
Bald eagle
African grey

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1 dog What animal is known as "Man's Best Friend"?
Dog
This phrase is especially true in the United States! The USA has one of the highest domesticated dog populations in the world, rounding out right around 76 million within the borders.
Cat
Horse
Fish

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27 penguin The emperor version of this is the largest of what animal?
Butterfly
Tiger
Finch
Penguin
The largest out of all penguins, the emperor penguin is the only kind that breeds during the Antarctic winter. Each pair lays one egg, which is then incubated by the male for two months.

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29 polar bear Which bear appears white, but actually has transparent fur?
Sun bear
Grizzly bear
Polar bear
Polar bears are carnivores, meaning they feed on meat. Their prey of choice is the variety of seals found in the Arctic Circle. Polar bears use ice floats to locate seals in the water or surprise them when they come on for shelter.
Sloth bear

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10 mule When a male donkey and a female horse breed, the resulting offspring is what animal?
Dorse
Zorse
Hinny
Mule
Mules can be either female or male; however, they are not able to reproduce. Because a horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey has 62, the resulting mule will have 63. This odd-numbered average means they can't have offspring.

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19 sheep Ewes, rams and lambs are names given to members of what species?
Sheep
The first animal to be successfully cloned was a sheep named Dolly. To make this happen, scientists used nuclear transfer. The purpose of the experiment was to produce better-modified livestock.
Cats
Foxes
Gophers

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33 panda What animal is known as the "national treasure" of China?
Giant panda
Even though they are highly regarded in their home country of China, giant pandas face rapidly declining populations. As of 2019, there were an estimated 1,900 living in the wild.
Clouded leopard
Dugong
Tibetan macaque

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32 puffer fish As a defense mechanism, which animal blows up like a ball when threatened?
Rattlesnake
Bearded dragon
Hooded seals
Pufferfish
Dolphins find pufferfish particularly fascinating. While other animals find their toxins lethal, dolphins have a somewhat adverse effect. They have been known to get a buzz after chewing on a pufferfish!

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26 giraffe What is the tallest animal on Earth?
Moose
Elephant
Giraffe
A giraffe can be anywhere between 14 and 19 feet tall. When a female giraffe comes to term after her 15-month long pregnancy, the calf falls between 4 and 6 feet to the ground.
Ostrich

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5 goldfish Which fish is the most popular aquarium fish in the entire world?
Sucker Fish
Goldfish
Despite its popularity, there is still some false information spread about goldfish. While they have shorter memories than a lot of animals, it's more than three seconds. They are said to remember things for up to five months.
Angelfish
Betta fish

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6 guinea pig This popular pet is also known as a cavie. Which pet is it?
Hamster
Guinea pig
Guinea pigs are known by other names across the world. In Germany, their name translates to "little sea pigs," while in France, their name means "Barbary rabbits." Their Latin name also means "little pig."
Cockatoo
Rabbit

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12 pigs Pigs are known for having an excellent sense of what?
Smell
Pigs are known to forage for food by using their snouts to smell out anything worthwhile. They then use their snouts to push away dirt and plants to find the food that caught their attention.
Sight
Hearing
Taste

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23 mouse When portrayed in cartoons, what animal is often seen eating cheese?
Rabbit
Dog
Cat
Mouse
In a naturally occurring diet, mice do not feast on cheese. Their foods of choice are seeds, grains and fruit. They can also be found eating insects, slugs and larvae. In rare instances, they may even eat bird eggs or each other.

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9 blue whale What is the biggest animal in the world?
Blue whale
While the blue whale reigns as the largest known animal on Earth, it almost went extinct. This was due to the popularity of commercial whaling. Whale oil, baleen, and whale meat were all desirable products at one point.
Elephant
Giant squid
Giraffe

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2 ostrich Which bird is the largest in the world?
Emu
Flamingo
Ostrich
To match their large stature, ostriches lay extremely large eggs. To put their egg size into perspective, one ostrich egg is equal to the same amount as one dozen average-sized chicken eggs.
Toucan

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31 great white shark Which animal has a skeleton made out of cartilage?
Great white shark
Great white sharks face very few predators, since they are the largest predatory fish in the ocean! Once they reach adulthood, the only dangers they face are larger sharks and Orca whales.
Blue whale
Manatee
Ocean sunfish

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22 tiger Which species of cat is the largest?
Lion
Tiger
Many kinds of tigers face declining population levels and are considered endangered. While they are sometimes poached for their furs, the primary cause of their decline is habitat loss.
Bobcat
Mountain lion

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34 cow This livestock species has four stomachs. Which animal are we talking about?
Horse
Cow
Cows spend a lot of time chewing! With an estimated rate of 50 times in a minute, cows are said to move their jaws roughly 40,000 times a day. The byproduct of all this chewing? Cud.
Chickens
Ducks

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11 goat This animal is known for its rectangular-shaped pupils. Which animal is it?
Donkey
Pig
Goat
A goat's pupil is actually beneficial to their survival! Goats need to be vigilant to avoid falling victim to a predator. Their rectangular pupils give them a greater field of vision, so they can locate threats easier.
Chicken

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28 seal Seals have a special layer of fat called what?
Frost layer
Thermogenic lining
Blubber
Even though they are considered semi-aquatic mammals, seals only come on land to breed, give birth or get away from predators. Due to their long time spent in the water, they can sleep underwater.
Fat deposit

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Filly
Kit
Hatchling
Fawn
A baby deer can also be called a calf or a kid. Females are referred to as does or hinds, and male specimens are identified as stags or bucks. When a group of deer is together, they are called a herd.

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3 horses Horses belong to which dietary group?
Omnivore
Herbivore
Because they only eat plants, horses require a lot of food to maintain a healthy weight. If they aren't fed anything else, a horse weighing 1,000 pounds would need to eat 25 pounds of hay every day!
Carnivore
Insectivore

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8 rabbit Despite the stereotype, carrots can actually be bad for which animal?
Donkey
Camel
Rabbit
Even though it seems like every rendition of a rabbit is seen eating a carrot, they can actually be detrimental to a rabbit's oral health! Since carrots are high in sugar, tooth decay increases among rabbits who are regularly fed carrots.
Horse

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13 chicken Which living animal is most closely related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Kangaroo
Komodo dragon
Ostrich
Chicken
Chicken eggs can come in a variety of colors, but this isn't entirely up to chance! The color of the egg a chicken will lay is dependent upon their earlobe color. A brown egg would have to come from a chicken with brown earlobes.

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35 platypus Other than echidnas, what is the only mammal to lay eggs?
Ostrich
Beaver
Platypus
During the mating season, male platypuses develop a spur on their bodies that can be used as a weapon against competing males or predators. The spur is venomous and has enough toxicity to kill a dog.
Turtle

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20 groundhog This animal is the largest member of the squirrel family. What animal is it?
Red squirrel
Prairie dog
Chipmunk
Groundhog
Groundhogs have a collection of talents. They can climb and swim, which gives them an advantage over their predators. They can also construct elaborate burrows to live in, complete with bathroom chambers.

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18 snail What animal is able to sleep for three years?
Bullfrog
Bearded dragon
Boa constrictor
Snail
Even though they can sleep for literal years, snails are awake enough to be considered pests for gardeners. Without proper precautions, a snail can wreak havoc on the leaves and stems of a crop.

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30 flamingo A flamingo's pink color is a result of what?
Direct sunlight
A parasite
Hormones
Their diet
The origin of the word "flamingo" has roots in the Spanish language. Flamingo is derived from the word "flamenco," which means fire. They are named as such because of their red and pink appearance.

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21 bearded dragon What popular reptilian pet originated in Australia?
Iguana
Bearded dragon
Bearded dragons are popular pets for several reasons. First, they tend to be calmer than other reptiles. In addition, they can be leash-trained and have even been shown to recognize their owners.
Chinese water dragon
Komodo dragon

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