Dinner Time for the Animals in Botswana Quiz

Answer: Insectivore

A pangolin is also known as a "scaly anteater" due to the glossy scales that cover its body. They sleep during the day and awaken at night to eat. They are insectivores and favor ants and termites, although they do eat insect larvae. A pangolin can eat about 20,000 ants in a single night.

They dig into the ant colony and use a long, sticky tongue to get the insects. They sleep in a burrow or tree hole and curl up in a ball as a defensive position while doing so.

Answer: Herbivore

The gemsbok is the largest of the antelope species known as the oryx. It is light brown in color with a long black tail and a black stripe from the chin to the end of the neck. It has long, straight horns protruding from its head. The gemsbok lives in dry areas and is found in the fringes of the Kalahari Desert of Botswana.

It eats grass, herbs, shrubs, roots, plants, and buds. It can survive for a very long period of time without water because it gets moisture from the plants it eats. It will roam in a small herd which is led by a dominant male.

Answer: Carnivore

The cheetah is a cat that is known as being the world's fastest land animal with speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour (74 miles per hour). It has a long, slender body with black spots and grey underbelly, with a long tail. It has distinctive black 'tear marks' on both sides of its eyes, which helps distinguish it from a leopard.

The cheetah is a carnivore and eats gazelles, impalas, antelopes, warthog calves, hares, and wildebeest calves. It stalks its prey before launching a short, very fast attack. If it catches the prey, it brings it down with a powerful bite. Unlike lions and leopards, a cheetah hunts in the daytime using its powerful vision.

In 2022, the cheetah, unfortunately, is listed as endangered due to loss of its habitat.

Answer: Omnivore

A yellow baboon is one of the five baboon species and lives in the savanna and light forested areas of Botswana. This primate is covered with thick fur and has a long, dog-like muzzle. It has a strong jaw with sharp canine teeth. It has a short tail and hairless buttocks.

The yellow baboon is omnivorous and will eat grass, seeds, roots, bugs, fish, birds, rodents, and even small antelopes. They are also foragers and will go out both day and night to find food. They have also been known to eat small livestock in villages near them.

The baboons live in large groups called troops and will sleep together, groom each other, and keep watch for predators.

Answer: Omnivore

Meerkats are found on the open plains with short grasses and shrubs. This small mammal has a broad head, long legs, and skinny tail. It has long foreclaws which it uses for digging the series of burrows in which the group, called a gang, lives. The meerkat can thermoregulate, meaning it can keep its body a certain temperature to help with the desert-like conditions.

The meerkat in the movie "The Lion King" ate bugs but in real life a meerkat also eats frogs, beetles, birds, lizards, snakes, plants, and seeds. Each meerkat gang is made up of about 30 members led by a dominant individual and members of the gang will stand in a upright position to keep a lookout for predators.

Answer: Insectivore

An aardwolf is a cousin of the hyena. It's name translates to "earth wolf" and it has fur coloring from yellowish to reddish-brown. It has a thick mane (that is raised in times of stress), pointed ears, black muzzle and chin, and teeth like pegs. It favors the dry climate and open savanna of Botswana. Unlike the hyena, an aardwolf does not kill and eat large prey but instead is an insectivore and lives primarily on termites. They use their powerful hearing and smell to find termite mounds then lick them with a long tongue. They do not have sharp claws so they cannot dig into the termite mound, but they have an amazing memory and can go back to the exact locations of the mounds time and again.

They are shy and do most of the termite hunting at night when they can consume up to 300,000 termites in a single evening. An aardwolf will live alone or with a partner in an abandoned aardvark den for short period of time before moving on to the next location.

Answer: Herbivore

Hippos are the third-largest land mammals behind elephants and rhinos. They live in the African rivers and are known to be extremely dangerous. The hippo has a huge head, bulky body, and short legs. They have no hair but they do have very thick skin. A hippo's mouth can open extremely wide and shows off long tusks.

Its eyes, nostrils and ears are toward the top of its head so it can live easily in an aquatic environment. The hippo is a nocturnal herbivore. It will leave the river at night to graze nearby.

It eats grass, small shoots, and reeds. Hippos are very social and live in herds numbering up to 100 animals and congregating in the water. Normally sedentary, the hippo will charge in an instant and can run extremely fast for a short distance.

Answer: Insectivore

An elephant shrew, although a tiny mammal, is not a real shrew but is more closely related to elephants and aardvarks. They are very little and look like rodents but they have a long nose similar to an elephant's trunk. They also have long legs and scaly tails and sport large canine teeth.

They are very active during the day and use their brown skin to camouflage in the surroundings. Elephant shrews are insectivores and eat insects, spiders, worms, and centipedes. They are very solitary animals and only cohabit briefly for reproduction.

Answer: Carnivore

The boomslang is a venomous snake with a long body. Its name derives from the Dutch words for "tree" and "snake" and they do indeed live in trees but are not restricted to them and can be found on the ground to hunt or feed. Its body is long and slender and it has large eyes on a head shaped like an egg. Males are typically a greenish color with females sporting a more brown appearance.

The boomslang is a carnivore and eats medium sized animals such as lizards, frogs, birds, eggs, and small mammals.

It will usually wait patiently on a tree branch and then strike suddenly when it spots prey, which it then swallows whole. This snake can open its jaws to an astounding 170 degrees when biting.

Answer: Omnivore

The honey badger is considered a "fearless animal". They have a long body with coarse black hair and a grayish white stripe running down their back. They have short, stocky legs and very powerful claws. Their skin is so thick and strong it can withstand porcupine quills, bee stings, and some snake bites.

They are omnivores and will eat lizards, turtles, bugs, eggs, snakes, roots, berries, and bulbs. Their favorite treats are bee larvae and honey (fitting for their name). They live in underground burrows and are nocturnal, coming out at night to hunt for food.

Answer: Herbivore

The giraffe is the tallest land animal with a long, graceful neck. Its coat has dark brown blotches on a light background. It has eyes on either side of its head for a wide range of vision and a strong sense of hearing and smell. The giraffe also has a very long tongue it uses to pick leaves. The giraffe enjoys the savanna and areas with trees like the acacia. This is because they are herbivores and eat mostly leaves, fruits, and flowers. Their height gives them an advantage to reach the top of the acacia trees where other herbivores cannot.

They will also awkwardly bend down and eat shrubbery and grass. Giraffes are found in herds that usually consist of related females and their offspring. On average, a giraffe does not need much sleep to function and gets by on about two hours a day of shuteye.

Answer: Carnivore

The Nile crocodile is a dangerous reptile that lives on both land and water. Its long, straight body and webbed feet help to quickly propel it through the rivers. They can also submerge for a long period of time and close their nostrils to block the water.

Their backs are covered with large, hard scales that absorb heat to help regulate their internal temperature. These animals have very powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. The Nile crocodile is very aggressive and is a predatory carnivore. It waits in ambush for prey then strikes and bites.

It eats birds, fish, amphibians, other crocodiles, buffalo, deer, and wild boar. It will also scavenge on dead animals. These reptiles make a variety of sounds to communicate (around twenty) messages and can live for up to a full century.