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Life of Pi: Animals Trivia Quiz

You know the tiger, the hyena, the zebra, and the orangutan in Yann Martle's "Life of Pi", but let's dig a little deeper, and remember the many other creatures hiding in the pages of this masterpiece.

A multiple-choice quiz by Casedinlight. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Casedinlight

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
405,549

Updated
Mar 14 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
97

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Pi writes his zoology thesis on the "functional analysis of the thyroid gland" of these animals, mentioned in detail on the first few pages of chapter one. Hint

sloths

monkeys

ducks

elephants

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. When Mr Kumar, the biology teacher, visits the zoo, he stops by Peak and Summit's enclosure. What kind of animals are Peak and Summit? Hint

rhinos

sun bears

snow leopards

giraffes

3. Pi's father wants to show Pi and his brother the dangers of animals. He gives them a lesson about tigers, lions, leopards, and many other animals. At the end of the lesson, he says of one animal "well...they're not dangerous", and gives a laugh. What animals are these? Hint

tortoises

guinea pigs

rabbits

sheep

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "This creature appeared in the air...missed the tarpaulin...landed with a loud crash on the last bench, smashing it and shaking the whole lifeboat." Which animal is Pi talking about? Hint

The tiger

The orangutan

The hyena

The zebra

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Pi ends up in the lifeboat with the tiger named Richard Parker, the orangutan named Orange Juice, a hyena, and a zebra. But there are a few other animals that were on the boat with them. Which of these animals were NOT on the lifeboat? Hint

cockroaches

a rat

spiders

flies

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Pi is on the lifeboat when he says "suddenly I was hit hard across the face. I cried out and closed my eyes.... this was the gruesome way I was to die. The pain was so severe I felt nothing." What hit Pi in the face? Hint

a dorado

the zebra's hoof

Richard Parker's paw

a flying fish

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "The underside of the raft became host to a multitude of sea life." Pi describes the order in which this sea life appeared. Which of these animals showed up last? Hint

brown crabs

potbelly fish

translucent shrimp

black worms

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Pi was convinced that the whales understood his condition. What is the name of the whale that "introduced" himself to Pi? Hint

Tsimtsum

Pondicherry

Poon

Pimphoo

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. An "exceptional botanical discovery" is made in chapter 92. It's an island, made of only algae and trees, and swarming with a million of these animals? Hint

quails

iguanas

lemurs

meerkats

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Can you tell me the last word of the last chapter of the book?
The last chapter, chapter 100, is the report of Pi's interview with the Japanese Maritime Department workers. Hint

sloth

animal

tiger

human

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Pi writes his zoology thesis on the "functional analysis of the thyroid gland" of these animals, mentioned in detail on the first few pages of chapter one.

Answer: sloths

Pi wrote his thesis on sloths, specifically the three-toed sloth. He says that "its demeanor - calm, quiet and introspective - did something to soothe my shattered self."

2. When Mr Kumar, the biology teacher, visits the zoo, he stops by Peak and Summit's enclosure. What kind of animals are Peak and Summit?

Answer: rhinos

Peak was showing signs of suffering from isolation, so Pi's father added goats to the enclosure, which made for a "great attraction". Summit arrived later.

Answer: guinea pigs

"The creatures were trembling with weakness as they frantically nibbled their kernels of corn."
"Father laughed. He handed me the squealing guinea pig. He meant to end on a light note."

4. "This creature appeared in the air...missed the tarpaulin...landed with a loud crash on the last bench, smashing it and shaking the whole lifeboat." Which animal is Pi talking about?

Answer: The zebra

The zebra broke its leg in the fall, and was the first on the lifeboat to be attacked.

The hyena, and Richard Parker the tiger, appear from under the tarpaulin later on, once the lifeboat is in the water.

The orangutan, Orange Juice, floats to the lifeboat "on an island of bananas in a halo of light."

Answer: spiders

On Orange Juice's raft of bananas, "black spiders crawled around her like malevolent worshippers." BUT, "the bananas came apart. The black spiders crawled as fast as they could, but their situation was hopeless. The island crumbled beneath them. They all drowned."

So the spiders never made it to the lifeboat.

Answer: a flying fish

Richard Parker was still on the other side of the lifeboat, and the zebra was dead. Pi was hit in the face by a flying fish. He picked it up and threw it at Richard Parker's open mouth, but it "swerved and dropped into the water."

7. "The underside of the raft became host to a multitude of sea life." Pi describes the order in which this sea life appeared. Which of these animals showed up last?

Answer: brown crabs

First came the shrimp, then clear fish, black worms, slugs, potbelly fish, and "lastly the crabs, half to three-quarters of an inch across and brown in colour."
Pi says "every time they appeared, I popped them one after another into my mouth like candy until there were none left."

8. Pi was convinced that the whales understood his condition. What is the name of the whale that "introduced" himself to Pi?

Answer: Pimphoo

Poon was the merchant sailor "who survived the Pacific for 173 days in the 1950s."
Tsimtsum was the name of the ship that sank.
Pondicherry is a territory in India.

9. An "exceptional botanical discovery" is made in chapter 92. It's an island, made of only algae and trees, and swarming with a million of these animals?

Answer: meerkats

The island seems like a paradise; Pi can eat all of the sweet algae that he wants; Richard Parker can eat as many meerkats as he wants. But things get a little less desirable at night, and Pi leaves the island.

10. Can you tell me the last word of the last chapter of the book? The last chapter, chapter 100, is the report of Pi's interview with the Japanese Maritime Department workers.

Answer: tiger

"Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger."

Yep, it's "tiger"!

Source: Author Casedinlight

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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