A Bit of Animal Trivia

Everyone likes a bit of trivia. Well, maybe not everyone; you may be the one person who doesn’t. Come to think of it, I don’t really enjoy trivia all that much myself. But anyway, like it or not, here’s some trivia for you…

1) What is the fastest growing bone tissue on Earth?
Answer:  Deer antlers

2) Which wild animal carries a dominant gene affecting their appearance that was acquired from their domesticated cousins?
Answer: Wolves. The wolf got their gene for black fur (found nearly exclusively in North American wolves) from dogs brought over with the earliest people to inhabit this continent.

3) What animal can detect odors up to 5 miles away; can hear both low and high frequency sounds beyond human capabilities and has 360 degree panoramic vision?
Answer: Cows. They also form friendships and are devoted mothers and will walk upwards of five miles in search of their calves.

4) A few centuries ago, this animals’ droppings were considered the best available fertilizer and therefore were protected by armed guards?
Answer: Pigeons

5) Which marine animal can live up to 100 years, uses complicated signals to establish social relationships, and sometimes travels hand in hand, the old leading the young?
Answer: Lobsters

6) When this animal gets injured or sick, his or her mate, and sometimes a comrade or two, will stay by their side until they are able to recover or pass on.
Answer: Canada goose

7) Which animal has the ability to learn the precise details of an area of over 1000 acres?
Answer: The turkey

8) Which dog breed was an American favorite in the early 20th century, featured as a child’s best friend and constant companion on TV and in movies, and can now be found in hospitals and nursing homes as a registered therapy animal?
Answer: The Pit Bull Terrier

9) What creature has some so paranoid that they’ve had protective enclosures—modeled after shark cages—built at school bus stops?
Answer: The Mexican Wolf in Catron County, New Mexico

10) Which animal species secretly communicates with one another through their flatulence?
Answer: Herring. Many species of fish have devised creative forms of communication and recent research has shown fish have a more complex nervous system than was previously accepted.

Bonus Question) While so many others dwindle, which group of animals has been steadily on the increase over  the years, now surpassing 150 billion?
Answer: Those consumed by humans each year.

turkey-factory-farming

4 thoughts on “A Bit of Animal Trivia

  1. Liked the factoids…interesting about the lobsters. But on the last question, halfway through reading about what other animal has been steadily on the increase, and my thought was – THE HUMAN POPULATION. WE are making it harder for other animals to live with us because we’re taking up way more space than we should, and because, as your answer suggested, we are taking (food) way more than we should. I’m a firm believer in taking only what you need so that there is plenty for others. But the human OVER-consumption of animal meats has surpassed the ridiculous.

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