Small Animals, Big Animals Trivia Quiz

Yes, our zoological adventure from smallest to largest begins with the tiny mosquito. They're lighter than a grain of rice, making them ideal for sneaking around on your exposed legs to find a nice juicy place to bite without you being any the wiser. Our tiny foes have six overly long skinny legs, two wings, and a long, thin body. Female mosquitoes use a special tube in their mouths to bite people and other animals and drink some of their blood.

They need this blood to make their eggs. Male mosquitoes don't bite people at all.

They mostly stick to nectar from flowers.

Hummingbirds are tiny birds with a pretty unique superpower. They can fly backwards! Their wings beat incredibly fast, letting them hover in one spot while they sip nectar from flowers with their long, skinny beaks. There are many kinds of hummingbirds, all of which live in the western hemisphere, but most hummingbirds are only about 3 to 5 inches (7.5-13 cm) long and weigh less than a nickel. That makes them some of the smallest birds in the whole world. Hummingbirds mostly eat nectar, but they also like to snack on tiny insects and spiders to get their protein.

Everyone's seen a rabbit. They're those fast and furry little animals that are famous for their long ears, fluffy tails, and strong back legs perfectly made for jumping. When a rabbit gets scared, it can dash away quickly, hopping and zigzagging to avoid any perceived danger. Most rabbits grow to about 14 to 20 inches (35-50 cm) long and can weigh around 2 to 6 pounds (1-3 kg), but it really varies by species. All of them are bigger than hummingbirds and smaller than wolves, though.

Rabbits are herbivores. That means they're strict vegetarians. They chow down on grass, leaves, vegetables, and all kinds of other plants, and their teeth keep growing throughout their lives. Rabbits also have an amazing sense of hearing, thanks to those big ears that can swivel around and pinpoint any strange sounds.

Wolves are basically big wild dogs. We know them for their sharp senses, strong bodies, ability to work in a team, and being the bad guy in a lot of fairy tales. In real life, they usually live and hunt in groups called packs. Together, family members work to find food and protect their territory from unwanted houseguests. Wolves talk to each other with howls and other sounds.

A howl can help other members of the pack find each other from very far away. An adult gray wolf can be about 4 to 6 feet (1.2-2 meters) long and weigh around 60 to 145 pounds (27-65 kg), males usually being bigger than females. Wolves mostly eat meat, like deer, elk, and smaller animals... like rabbits!

Hey, you're in this quiz! We humans are pretty unusual animals. We walk on two legs, have smart brains, and can use tools to build everything from tiny LEGO creations to huge skyscrapers. We're also social animals, which means we like to live, learn, play, and work with other people. An adult human can be very different in size, but people are generally around 4 to 6 feet (1.2-2 m) tall and weigh on average about 90 to 200 pounds (41-91 kg), with a whole lot of variation as you know. We're omnivores, so we can eat both plants and animals along with whatever's in a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Oh, yeah. We also invented Kraft Mac & Cheese!

Don't try to shake hands with a lion. They don't like it, and they're bigger than you. The king of the jungle has sharp claws and one of the loudest roars in the whole animal kingdom. They're also the only cats that regularly live in groups. The groups are called prides.

A pride usually includes related females, their cubs, and a few adult males. Lions spend a lot of time resting, but, just like a housecat, when it's time to eat, they can move fast. Adult lions are usually about 4 to 6 feet (1.2-2 meters) long, not counting the tail, and can weigh around 250 to 500 pounds (115-225 kg). Female lions usually do most of the hunting, while the boys do most of the eating.

You definitely don't want to meet a grizzly bear in the woods. They're huge, super-strong bears with shaggy fur, strong claws, and a giant appetite. They live in parts of North America, especially in forests, mountains, and open areas. Grizzlies eat both plants and animals. In fact, they'll eat anything from berries and roots to fish and small animals. They can also catch larger animals if the situation is right.

An adult grizzly can stand about 3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 m) tall at the shoulder and weigh more than 800 pounds (360 kg), so you don't want to shake hands with one of these either. Before winter, they eat as much as they can and build up lots of fat for hibernation. They look slow and clumsy, but don't let that fool you. Grizzlies can run much faster than you can!

Hippopotamuses are giant mammals that spend much of their time in rivers, lakes, and other shallow water in Africa. Despite looking like they should be slow and clumsy, hippos can actually run surprisingly fast, sometimes more than 19 miles per hour (30 km/hr) on land! An adult hippopotamus can be about 10 to 16 feet (3-5 m) long and weigh roughly 3,000 to 9,000 pounds (1,300 to 4,100 kg). Males are usually larger than females.

Hippos have enormous mouths with big teeth and tusk-like canine teeth that they use mostly for fighting and showing off rather than eating meat. They mostly like eating grass, sometimes munching up more than 80 pounds (36 kg) of grass in a single night! Their eyes, ears, and nostrils are high up on their heads. This lets them see, hear, and breathe while most of their body stays underwater.

Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, and they have some pretty amazing tools built right into their faces! Those long trunks are used for breathing, smelling, grabbing food, drinking water, and even giving other elephants a friendly hello. African elephants can stand around 8 to 13 feet (2.5-4 m) tall at the shoulder and weigh roughly 5,000 to 14,000 pounds (2,300-6,350 kg), while Asian elephants are generally a bit smaller. Either way, that's a whole lot of elephant!

They use their huge ears to help cool themselves down, flapping them like giant fans on hot days. Elephants eat plants, including grass, leaves, bark, fruit, and roots, and they can spend much of the day looking for food. They live in big family groups, usually led by an older female called a matriarch, who knows where to find water and food.

Blue whales are the biggest animals ever. Bigger than elephants. Bigger than the biggest dinosaurs! They're so big that even a school bus would look tiny next to one! These giants live in oceans around the world and spend their days swimming through the water looking for food. An adult blue whale can reach about 100 feet (30.5 m) long and weigh as much as 200 tons, which is roughly the weight of 30 or more elephants. Even though they're the biggest animals, they mostly eat tiny animals called krill, tiny shrimp-like creatures. During feeding season, they swallow up huge mouthfuls of krill like popcorn.