Sonic and His Furry Friends Trivia Quiz

Answer: No

Hedgehog meat has historically been consumed in Britain, particularly by Romany Gypsies, who would remove the spines before spit-roasting the 'hogs. They were also baked in clay ovens, and a Second World War cookbook has recipes for cooking hedgehog by rolling it in clay and baking it, which inspired Lewis to create his crisps. The clay would then be broken, taking the skin and spines with it. However, the crisps themselves did not contain our prickly pals; they were flavoured with herbs and pork fat, and their name had to be changed to 'Hedgehog Flavour' under trading standards rules. (Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.)

Sonic was 'born' in 1991, when 'Sonic the Hedgehog' was released for the Sega Mega Drive. Other hedgehogs have also appeared in the series, such as the pink Amy Rose (who originally appeared in 'Sonic CD'), the black and red Shadow (who originally appeared in 'Sonic Adventure 2'), and the, erm, silver Silver (who originally appeared in 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2006').

Answer: Puggle

A baby fox like Tails can be called a pup, kit or cub, but not a puggle - that's a baby echidna! A group of foxes is known as a skulk. The average fox litter size is 4-6 cubs, although some litters can consist of up to 13 cubs, and the cubs are born deaf and blind with dark brown fur. They remain with their mothers for the first 2-3 weeks of life, while the fathers and infertile vixens feed and nourish the mother vixens. The cubs' fur will start to change colour when they are about a month old.

Tails was introduced in 1992 in the 16-bit 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' as Sonic's sidekick, pilot and an alternative playable character. (He does get a mention in the 8-bit version, but is not playable as he's been kidnapped.) Unlike real foxes, he has two tails, which he can use to fly.

Answer: It can lay eggs

The echidna is a monotreme, meaning that it is a mammal that lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young; the only other mammal that does this is the platypus. Like the platypus, they have spurs on their feet, although these spurs are not venomous. Although echidnas eat ants and are covered in spines, they aren't related to anteaters or hedgehogs (although they were initially mistaken for hedgehogs). There are two types of echidna: short-beaked, like this one, which is predominantly native to Australia, and long-beaked, with three subspecies native to Papua New Guinea.

Knuckles first appeared in 1994's 'Sonic 3' and 'Sonic 3 & Knuckles' (in which he is playable) as a rival to Sonic, before the two eventually become allies. He does not look anything like a real echidna.

Answer: Sloth

The armadillo is related to both the sloth and the anteater, and the Xenarthra order is named for the animals' unusual joints; they have extra articulations in their vertebral joints, and they have an ischium (a paired bone at the bottom of the pelvis) joined to their spines. They also do not have milk teeth, with an exception of a few armadillo species. The armadillo is native to the Americas and its most notable feature is the plates of bone that make up its 'armour', which gave it its name.

As well as 'SegaSonic the Hedgehog', Mighty is also part of the Chaotix Crew in 'Knuckles' Chaotix' although he is not a member of the crew in 'Sonic Heroes', as the four teams have only three members each.

Answer: To mate with the queen

The drone does not have a stinger, so he cannot protect the hive. His main job is to mate with the queen, and, if a drone gets lucky, all his blood goes into his endophallus (sex organ) and while his body falls away, a portion of the endophallus remains in the queen as a guide for the next drone. One task that drones share with female worker bees is controlling the heat in a hive; they can create heat by shivering, or use their wings to cool the hive. Drones are dependent on worker bees for food and either die off or are expelled from the hive.

Charmy is a male bee, so he would be a drone, not a prince like he is in the games! In 'Sonic Heroes', he's the flying member of Team Chaotix. The other two Chaotix Crew members are Espio the Chameleon and Vector the Crocodile.

Answer: Holland Lop

The Holland lop is named for its floppy, or 'lop' ears, which differ from the erect ears of other rabbits. It was created by crossing the Netherland dwarf rabbit with the French Lop; breeder Adrian de Cock wanted to create a breed that was bigger than the Netherland dwarf, but smaller than the French lop. They were officially recognised in 1964 and spread across Europe. They are calm creatures, if a little shy, and need toys to chew on to prevent them from chewing their owners' property.

Cream is a member of Team Rose in 'Sonic Heroes' and uses her large lop ears to fly, similar to Tails with his tails.

Answer: Maine Coon

The Maine coon is one of the biggest cat breeds and is the state cat of Maine, the state in which it originated. It is thought to have descended from cats imported by Puritan settlers, and has a reputation for having an easygoing 'dog-like' personality. It has long, shaggy fur, and the typical Maine coon has ear tips similar to those of a lynx. They are more likely to have extra toes (polydactyly) than other cat breeds.

Big is a member of Team Rose in 'Sonic Heroes', and is the strong one of the team. An artist I follow on DeviantArt drew him as a Maine coon, and he has a similar personality to the breed, hence why I picked Maine coons for this question. Another cat who appears in the series is Blaze, who made her debut in 2005's 'Sonic Rush'.

Answer: Omnivorous

As anyone who's encountered a raccoon going through their bins will know, raccoons are omnivores and are nicknamed 'trash pandas' for this habit, along with the dark patches on their eyes. Feeding raccoons is advised against in many areas, as they can become dependent on humans for food and also carry a risk of rabies. They have a particular liking for sweetcorn and, like foxes, have been known to steal chickens and their eggs; however, they prefer insects and fish, as they are easier to catch. Captive raccoons sometimes wash food before eating it.

Marine originally appeared in 2007's 'Sonic Rush Adventure', a sequel to 'Sonic Rush'. Like many of the characters from the games, she also appears in the Archie 'Sonic' comics.

Answer: No

Unlike bats (of which there is one, named Rouge, in the 'Sonic' series), flying squirrels cannot literally fly. What they actually do is glide. To do this, instead of using wings, they have a type of membrane called a patagium that gives them lift in the air and extends between their limbs. Bats also have a patagium attached to their wings. They can use their limbs and tails to help control their gliding path. The northern flying squirrel, pictured here, is nocturnal and native to Canada and the USA.

Ray is a fairly obscure 'Sonic' character and is only playable in a small number of games, such as 'Sonic Blitz', a collectable mobile card game, and 'Sonic Mania Plus'.

Answer: True

Throughout the games, Sonic is faced with the destruction of his home planet by Dr Robotnik aka Dr Eggman, and habitat loss and pollution are both threats to many real-life animals. The Bronx Zoo emphasised this by placing the title 'The Most Dangerous Animal in the World' above a cage with a mirror inside it in the Great Apes House on 26th April 1963. The caption read, "You are looking at the most dangerous animal in the world. It alone of all the animals that ever lived can exterminate (and has) entire species of animals. Now it has achieved the power to wipe out all life on Earth." The Brookfield Zoo in Chicago also had the exhibit in 1968.

In the 1970s, the text was changed to read, "This animal, increasing at a rate of 190,000 every 24 hours, is the only creature that has killed off entire species of other animals. Now it has achieved the power to wipe out all life on Earth." Besides humans, the most dangerous animal on the planet is considered to be the mosquito, due to its ability to spread often fatal diseases, such as malaria.