Detective Dawg On The Case! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Polar bear

The polar bear is the ultimate Arctic predator, famous for waiting patiently at a seal's ice breathing hole to strike. These bears, with their white-appearing fur, have heavy, non-retractable claws, over two inches (5 cm) long, that act like ice cleats to grip slippery surfaces and pull massive prey out of the water. The other suspects are cleared.

The puffin lives in cold northern waters but, as an avian species with webbed feet and feathers, it leaves zero claw marks or fur behind. Snow leopards have thick fur but these cats roam high Asian mountain ranges very far away from Arctic sea ice. While lynx have incredibly large paws for walking on snow and thick coats, they are native to the boreal forests of North America and do not hunt seals on Arctic sea ice. Crucially, like most cats, they have retractable claws, so their tracks usually show no claw marks at all unless they were running.

Answer: Jaguar

The jaguar is the prime suspect because it is a powerful cat that is a predator native to the Amazon rainforest. It is known for hunting near rivers and for sporting signature rosette patterned spots with dots inside them. The other suspects are cleared.

Capybaras live in the Amazon but they are not cats. They are gentle rodents that eat plants. Frankly, they are far more likely to end up as the jaguar's lunch than to commit a predatory crime. Caracals are sleek, wild cats, but they roam the dry savannas and deserts of Africa and Asia and not in the jungles of South America. Also, they are around 40 pounds (18 kg) so not as big as reported by the witnesses. Finally, tigers are cats also, but they are striped (not covered in rosettes) and are native exclusively to Asia.

Answer: Red kangaroo

The kangaroo is our chief suspect because it is a famous Australian marsupial that travels across the Outback using a powerful bipedal hopping motion, leaving distinct long foot tracks. It also is a herbivore and requires a diet high in fiber and low in protein. The other suspects are cleared.

Ostriches are bipedal but they are native to the savannas and deserts of Africa and not Australia. Plus, an ostrich print shows two big, forward-pointing toes rather than a mammal's elongated foot. Perenties are Australia's largest monitor lizards. They walk low to the ground on four sprawling legs with five sharp-clawed toes. They would not leave grass behind from their meal as they are carnivores and eat only meat. Dingoes are wild Australian canines and not bipedal, meaning their tracks look like typical dog prints with four toe pads and blunt claw marks.

Answer: Rhinoceros

The rhino (specifically the African black or white rhino) is a massive, multi-ton animal native to the African savanna that sports prominent facial horns made of keratin. The horns are perfect for leaving distinct weapon evidence at a watering hole crime scene. The rest of the animals are cleared of charges.

Elephants are certainly massive African animals that hang out at a watering hole, but they have tusks (which are actually giant elongated incisor teeth), not horns. Dik-diks do have tiny horns, but they are one of Africa's smallest antelopes. Standing barely over 12 inches (30 cm) tall, no detective would ever describe one as "obviously very large". Pronghorn, while they do boast horns, are famous speedsters native to the open plains and deserts of North America, nowhere near the African Serengeti.

Answer: Bactrian camel

The Bactrian camel is the iconic native livestock of the Gobi Desert, famous for its two humps and its nutritious harvested milk. It also has a heavy, double-layered coat (a soft inner down and long guard hairs) that shields it against extreme cold before shedding in clumps. The other suspects are cleared.

Nubian goats are a popular dairy breed, but they originated in Africa and the Middle East so their thin, short coats are built for hot climates, not freezing Asian desert winters. Goitered gazelles do roam the Gobi Desert, but they are wild and very fast antelopes that are not domesticated by humans. Plus, their hair is not thick all year and not double layered. Gobi bears are critically endangered wild apex predators native to the region. However, it's unlikely anyone is milking a wild desert bear.

Answer: Aye-aye

The aye-aye is one of Madagascar's celebrated lemurs. It is strictly nocturnal (sleeping in spherical leaf nests high in the canopy during the day) and spends almost its entire life living high up in the treetops of Madagascar's dense rainforests. The other suspects are cleared.

Tenrecs are native to Madagascar, but they live on the ground and forage in the leaf litter rather than living up high in the tree canopy. Indris are native to Madagascar and spend their lives high in the trees, but they are strictly diurnal (active during the day) and sleep through the night, giving them a solid alibi for a nighttime crime. Raccoons, although busy at night and having a criminal reputation, are native to North and Central America and are not in the wild forests of Madagascar.

Answer: American alligator

The American alligator is the prime suspect because it is the native reptile that rules the freshwater marshlands of the Florida Everglades. This opportunistic carnivore packs a crushing bite force of over 2,100 pounds per square inch. The other suspects are cleared.

Saltwater crocodiles are reptiles and hold the world record for bite force, but they live on the complete opposite side of the planet in the Indo-Pacific region and Australia. A Burmese python is an invasive Everglades reptile, but its bite force is surprisingly modest, estimated at just a few pounds per square inch (PSI). Instead of crushing power, they rely on up to 120 sharp teeth to lock onto prey, followed immediately by a lethal constricting grip. Florida panthers definitely have powerful jaws, but they are instantly cleared because they are warm-blooded mammals, not reptiles.

Answer: Andean condor

The Andean condor is a large scavenger bird native to the high peaks of the South American Andes mountains. It sports mostly black plumage with a distinctive white neck ruff and feeds almost exclusively on carrion (decaying animal carcasses), making it the perfect match for every clue at the scene. The other suspects are cleared.

While the vulture certainly dines on carrion, this bird lives thousands of miles away on the savannas of Africa. The Andean parakeet birds do live in the Andes but they would leave behind brightly colored feathers since they are a shiny green hue. This tiny black flowerpiercer lives in the high Andes and has glossy black feathers, but it uses its hooked beak to sip nectar from flowers, making it completely harmless to animal carcasses.

Answer: Stripe-tailed scorpion

The stripe-tailed scorpion (Hoffmannius spinigerus) is one of the most common native scorpions in the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States. Being a scorpion, it is a true eight-legged arachnid and possesses a venomous stinger at the end of its tail. The other suspects are cleared.

The rattlesnack is very common in the Sonoran Desert and definitely venomous, but it's a reptile, not an arachnid. While the Sydney funnel-web spider is certainly a famously venomous arachnid, it lives very far away in eastern Australia and it wouldn't survive the dry Sonoran climate. Camel spiders are highly terrifying looking and common in desert habitats, but camel spiders (solifugids) are actually non-venomous. They rely entirely on powerful jaws to crush prey rather than venom.

Answer: Galapagos giant tortoise

The Galapagos giant tortoise is a famous land-dwelling reptile native to the Galapagos Islands. Unlike their sea turtle cousins, these gentle giants spend their entire long lives (over 100 years) strictly on land, grazing on cacti and grasses, and rarely ever set foot in the water. The other suspects are cleared.

Famous for its bright blue feet, the blue-footed booby is a bird, not a reptile. While the marine iguana is a native Galapagos reptile, it is famous for being one of the only lizards in the world that spends tons of time in the ocean, diving very deep to feed on marine algae. The Komodo dragon is a giant predatory reptile and definitely sticks to dry land, but it lives far across the Pacific Ocean on the islands of Indonesia, nowhere near the Galapagos Islands.