Fun Trivia » Animals » Animals by Region

Very few, if any, animals have been the subject of legend and deliberation more than the gray wolf. They were once often shot on sight due to the assumption by many that the entire species were blood thirsty killers. Seen as a threat to the livestock trade (beginning in the early 1800s), wolves were killed in great numbers - sometimes to collect a bounty. Times and circumstances have changed. Some attitudes have changed, too. Beginning during the second half of the twentieth century gray wolves were reintroduced into some areas of North America where they had been completely eradicated. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Red fox, Brown bear, Black panther

These nocturnal creatures with long tail and beady eyes have a thin membrane which can help them glide in the air, very similar to that of a flying squirrel. They eat insects in the summer when they are abundant, but in winter their preferred diet is the sweet sap from plants and trees.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Asia, Africa, South America

The kiwi is endemic to New Zealand and is the only bird to have nostrils at the end of its beak. It has a highly developed sense of smell. Difficulty: Easy.

 

kangaroo, emu, kea

The impala lives in wide open spaces and can roam a great distance. It has a scent gland above the heel on each hind leg to enable it to follow its trail back to the herd. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Asia, South America, Australia

The kiwi bird is a national symbol for New Zealand. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

India, Northern Africa, South America

The Western and Central African tropical rainforests are some of the largest remaining wild areas of the Globe. Unfortunately their size is shrinking with each passing year. To make matters worse, illegal logging, poaching and hunting are still problems which are not entirely taken care of. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Giant Panda, Saiga Antelope, Galah

You may find all these species in the Amazonian basin - the World's largest area of tropical rain forest.(its surface is ten times larger than the surface of France for example).
Though constantly diminishing in size, due to blindly human exploitation, the tropical rain forests are still home to more than half of the total animal and plant species.

Difficulty: Hard.

 

Snow Leopard, Caracal, Lynx

It is also known as the Fiji tree frog and loves the tropical lowland forests of the country's name that it bears. If you're looking for it, then it would be best to start somewhere near a stream. It is a "near" threatened species, thanks to human encroachment which has resulted in a substantial thinning of its habitat. Difficulty: Hard.

 

New Guinea , New Zealand, Indonesia

Another name for the bumblebee bat is the Kitti's hog-nosed bat. Native to Burma and Thailand, it is believed these bats are one of the smallest mammals in the world.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Europe, Australia, North America

The term "kangaroo" refers to the larger members of the Macropodidae family, of which there are 4 species found in Australia. There are another 50 or so smaller macropods found in Australia and New Guinea. Macropod means "large foot". Smaller macropods include rock wallabies, wallaroos, tree kangaroos and the rat kangaroo. Kangaroos are the only large animal to move by hopping, but cannot move backwards. They are also good swimmers. Difficulty: Easy.

 

dingo, koala, kookaburra

The crocodile monitor, also known as Salvadori's monitor, is the largest monitor found on the island (the heaviest monitor of all being the Komodo dragon). The crocodile monitor also holds the record of being the longest lizard in the world, at up to 8 ft.

When observed in the wild, the crocodile monitor, like all monitors, is fairly slow moving. However, they can move in short bursts of terrific speeds. Monitors are also credited with having greater stamina than other lizards, possessing the ability to breathe whilst running. As well as sudden speed, the monitor's tough scaly skin and vicious bite make it deadly to creatures of all sizes, including humans.

Crocodile monitors can be distinguished from their relatives not only by their tremendous length, but their bulbous noses and yellow spots. The tail of the crocodile monitor is the main contributing factor to its length. This tail is vital for balance, tree-climbing, and defence. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The gila monster, The beaded lizard, The frilled dragon

The Amur tiger is a critically endangered species. There are only 400-500 left living in the wild. A carefully controlled breeding programme has been designed to save the species from total extinction. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Africa, Europe, South America

The pronghorn is swifter than a thoroughbred racehorse, it can reach and sustain speeds of over 80 km per hour (~50 mph). Difficulty: Hard.

 

Central Africa, Australia, India

Known as 'tzvi' in Hebrew, the mountain race of Arabian gazelle is found over much of the country and the whereas the Dorcas gazelle can be found in the southern desert. Roe deer, though found in the country, are not antelopes but deer. The other two are antelopes, but are found in Africa. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Roe deer, Eland, Klipspringer

Unlike most habitats, the deserts are increasing in area. The hot days, cold nights and lack of water make survival hard for wildlife. The North American desert makes no exceptions, but a surprising number of animals have found a way to deal with the harsh conditions. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Bird of Paradise, Imperial Eagle, Cassowary

Although you may find all these animals in a zoo, their natural habitat is the East African savanna. This grassland is warm all year round and it has two seasons: a dry one and a wet one. Depending on this, the huge herds of herbivores migrate in search for water. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Przewalski Horse, Komodo Dragon, Wapiti

Easily recognized by its bobbed or shortened tail, the bobcat is a member of the lynx family. Its species name is Lynx rufus. While many other large carnivores are facing extinction or, at best, drastic reduction of their numbers in the wild, the bobcat seems to continue to survive. It is not viewed a huge threat to most of society because its diet primarily consists of other animals that themselves viewed as undesirable, for example, mice, rats, rabbits, etc. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Mountain lion, Jaguarundi, Saber-toothed cat

This small, tree loving monkey feeds on insects, bird eggs, leaves and berries. Their long tail aids in balance when they swing from tree to tree in the Amazon jungle where they live. Most marmosets are approximately 20cm long and can be identified by their ear tufts and long claws.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Africa, Europe, Asia

The kea is one of the few alpine parrots. Rated as one of the most intelligent birds in the world, its intelligence and curiosity have helped it to survive in the harsh alpine environment. Their forward behaviour around people is sometimes seen as endearing and sometimes problematic. They are now a protected species, having once been hunted for a bounty. Difficulty: Hard.

 

kiwi, rosella, cassowary

The numbat can eat about 20,000 termites a day and because of this it may also be known as the banded anteater. The numbat is an emblem of Western Australia. Difficulty: Average.

 

Asia, Europe, Africa

Leopard seals are the only seals that regularly prey on warm-blooded creatures, including penguins and other seals. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Europe, India, Caribbean Islands

Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) prey on weak and injured gazelle when they can. Wolves also live in Israel but are larger, though paler and slighter than timber wolves. Hyenas live in the southern deserts but are solitary. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Wolf, Coyote, Hyena

The Andes are the longest mountain range in the world. They are home to several species not otherwise found in South America. Large animals are pretty scarce but there is a great abundance of birds around the mountain lakes. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Hyrax, Aardvark, Diana Monkey

With far less species than the two previous habitats, the tropical deserts are a tough place to live. The species populating these areas found different and original forms of adaptation to the harsh environment.
The species listed are to be found in the Sahara desert. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Okapi, Armadillo, Anoa

The wild dog of southern Asia is on the endangered list due to habitat loss, hunting and possibly disease. Living in packs of between three and twelve, or more, they can be distinguished by their thick reddish coat with white under parts.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Australia, South America, Africa

The Tasmanian devil is a protected species only occurring on Tasmania. After the extinction of the thylacine, it is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial. Unfortunately devil facial tumour disease is now making this protected animal vulnerable to extinction. Difficulty: Easy.

 

dingo, wombat, emu

The meerkat has outstanding longsighted vision. It has a dark band around both eyes which enables it to see prey even if it looks directly into the sun. The meerkat will often miss food directly in front of it because of nearsightedness. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Asia, South America, Europe

Although the orangutan is solitary for most of its life, it forms lifelong bonds with others, which are renewed during occasional forest encounters. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Madagascar, Central America, Africa

The Indian porcupine is a vegetarian and quite common though not often seen because it is nocturnal. Its beautiful black and white banded spines can sometimes be found shed on the ground. Spiny echidnas live in Australasia and the thorny bat only exists in my imagination. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Porcupine, Spiny echidna, Thorny bat

The Himalayan mountains form a massive natural barrier, inducing a major climate effect. While the north range has dry conditions, the southern foothills experience frequent rainfalls. The medium-level forests, along with the Tibet plateau house a great diversity of species, many of them unique throughout the world. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Meerkat, Chipmunk, Elf Owl

The distinctive species of the Australian bushland are the egg-layer mammals and the marsupials. Almost all the native Australian mammals belong to one of these two primitive mammal groups, this being the result of the continent's isolation. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Opossum, Hippopotamus, Gila Monster

The tuatara is the only surviving member of the order Rhynchocephalia but its lineage goes back some 200 million years. Sometimes grey in colour, they are predominantly greenish brown, are about 80 centimetres from tip to tail end and have two rows of upper teeth. The spiny ridge on their back, that lends itself to their name, is more pronounced in the male of the species. The species fell prey to the (introduced) Polynesian rats and loss of habitat to the point where it essentially disappeared from the mainland of New Zealand and could only be found on the country's surrounding islands. In an effort to bring the lizard back, a section of the Karori Sanctuary was fenced off in 2005 and a number of the lizards were released into it. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Blue tongue, One of no legs, Scaly friend

The northern river otters have typically made their homes along river banks and shore lines throughout most of Canada and in certain parts of the United States - on the east coast as far south as the state of Florida. Primarily of nocturnal hunter they exist on a diet of wide variety that includes crabs, turtles, birds and eggs with fish (usually) comprising the largest percentage of their diet. Efforts to reintroduce the river otter must to be carefully planned, it was learned, because river otters are especially vulnerable to the effects of water pollution. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Mountain lion, Island fox, Florida cave bear

The pine marten (Martes martes) is native to most parts of Europe and northern Britain. It comes from the same family as stoat, mink, otter and badger. It closely resembles the American marten (Martes americana) apart from having more distinctive markings.
Difficulty: Average.

 

Australia, South America, Africa

Loss of habitat and the Polynesian rat resulted in the extinction of the tuatara on mainland New Zealand. Captive breeding programmes and eradication of rat populations on some offshore islands seemed to have helped.

Its low body temperature means a slow metabolism and relatively long life span - "Henry", a tuatara at Southland Museum in Invercargill, is reported to have became a father in 2009 at the age of 111 years. Difficulty: Hard.

 

komodo dragon, salt-water crocodile, north-western ridge-tailed monitor

The megapodes in New Guinea can be seen in the barren areas which surround large volcanoes. Because of the notorious lack of food in these areas, the presence of the megapode bird usually suggests that it is about to lay its eggs. The reason for choosing this volcanic, ashy terrain is for the warmth of the earth, as well as the lack of predators who may steal the eggs.

The egg of a megapode bird is very large, as the mother will bury it in the mound and move on, never to meet her young, so the chicks need to be born large, capable of fending for themselves.

The name megapode literally means "big foot" due to the bird's physical appearance. Megapodes are chicken-like birds, but some have significantly longer legs than others. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Allowing other birds to incubate them, Laying them in warm water, Building nests of twigs in trees

The diet of the fishing cat may include birds, small mammals, snakes, snails and fish. The cat can attract fish by gently tapping the surface of the water and this will create a ripple effect as though an insect has landed. Fish will investigate and the fishing cat will pounce!
Difficulty: Hard.

 

South America, North and Central America, Australia

The plates on the gopher tortoise's shell are ridged and each ridge represents a year's growth. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Galapagos Islands, China, Southern Africa

Red foxes are quite successful over much of Israel and are a serious concern for rabies control. The other three mammals listed are also found in Israel. The rarer Blanford's fox has a black tipped tail and the caracal is a larger and scarcer wild cat. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Blanford's fox, Eurasian badger, Caracal

The Mediterranean forests and scrubs (also known as "maquis") are suffering from the great expansion of urbanization and agriculture in this area. Today, only about 17% of the original 82% forest cover remains. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Cougar, Black Bear, Skunk