Black and White Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bengal

White tigers, with their streaky stripes and sky blue eyes, are seen, superficially, as majestic and beautiful. But, all that comes at a price: the same gene that causes the lack of production of the orange pheomelanin pigment also contributes to cross-eyedness, clubfootedness, defective organs and other health issues.

The double recessive pheomelanin gene mutation should only naturally appear in 1 in 10,000 tigers. It was in 1958 that the last white tiger was seen in the wild. Most, if not all, white tigers in captivity have a common ancestor in Mohan, a Bengal tiger who was bred with his daughter in 1958.

Answer: Bombay

The Bombay isn't named for its location of origin, but for its resemblance to the Indian black panther. The 'default' Bombay is an American Bombay. In the UK the Burmese was instead bred with a British shorthair which can, unlike the American version, colour the eyes green rather than the typical gold or copper colourations. They are otherwise extremely similar and difficult to tell apart.

The other cat breeds here aren't typically black, although they are all known for often having dark or black facial colourations.

Answer: True

After thirteen months of gestation, the mother separates from the herd and gives birth to a zebra foal. They're born with the ability to walk and run within an hour after birth, and do indeed come with stripes, albeit brown ones. The purpose of the stripes has been contested; they may aid in temperature regulation, act as a form of camouflage against predators like hyenas or lions, or also confuse horse flies who carry deadly diseases.

A 2019 study found that putting a black and white zebra 'coat' on a regular horse in the UK would result in the horse flies mostly bouncing off, though tail flicking also serves as a protective adaptation zebras have against flies.

Answer: False

Giant pandas do predominantly eat bamboo, which forms around 99% of their diet. Bamboo is nutritionally lean, so they can spend twelve hours just eating: this adds up to about a kilogram of the stuff every hour. They occasionally eat fish, birds or insects if needed. But, in terms of the macronutrient content of their diets, pandas have more in common with carnivores than herbivores - indeed, they are members of the Carnivora order.

The deactivation of an umami taste gene (Tas1r1) may be related to their bamboo diet, but it's seen by researchers as a chicken-and-egg situation since it's not clear which came first.

Answer: Their native continent

White rhinos are substantially bigger than black rhinos; the white rhino male can weigh 2400kg where a black rhino could be half as heavy. The white rhino has a broad flat lip, a low-hanging head with a weak neck, and prefers grazing on grass. In comparison, the black rhino holds its head up high, has a hooked lip and eats fruit and leaves from trees. The white rhino has a long front horn with a shorter second horn, where the black rhino's front horn is comparatively more medium-sized.

However, both do come from Africa. The white rhino's habitat is more limited to southern Africa, where the black rhino can be found either in southern or east Africa. Their names are also somewhat bizarre, in that they both tend to be fairly similar shades of grey. One popular theory is that this comes from a mistranslation of 'wijde' (wide) in Afrikaans for white, with white simply being a natural alternative to black.

Answer: Killer whale

The Adélie penguin can be found in coastal Antarctica, and is the most widely spread penguin species. It's named after Adélie Land, a French-claimed territory in turn named for the wife of Jules Dumont d'Urville who first found the penguins in 1840. These penguins tend to swim in groups, in part to avoid aquatic predators like the leopard seal and killer whale. Of these, the killer whale has both black and white colourings.

Although seen as cute, the Adélies may have a dark side: a 1915 pamphlet written by Dr. George Murray Levick was held back from publication as it detailed the penguins' proclivity for necrophilia, homosexual acts and their abuse of chicks and was seen as disturbing for public eyes. It was published in 2012 by Cambridge University as the notes were determined to be accurate and worthy of publication.

Answer: Dalmatians are hypoallergenic and do not shed

As one website aptly put it, the dalmatians shed once a year... for 365 days. Shedding is one of the main reasons dalmatians are given up to shelters. Their urinary tract issues come from a genetic mutation that impairs their ability to process uric acid. Allowing the dalmatians to urinate regularly - every four hours or so - and avoiding foods like beef and kidneys that are heavy in purines can help mitigate this issue.

The dogs do originate from the Dalmatia region in Croatia and their association with firehouses is related to their role as carriage dogs.

They would run alongside horses in wagons that were sent to put out fires, protecting and calming the horses down.

Answer: Ayam Cemani

Their eyes, beak, tongue, bones, internal organs... all of them are black. The colouring stems from a genetic mutation resulting in a gene (EDN3) which essentially 'tells' melanin-producing cells to go to the wrong places. Leif Andersson, a Swedish researcher, traced the genetic mutation back to a single ancient chicken.

In Java, Indonesia, the chickens have an association with magical powers and so aren't often eaten there. Ayam means 'chicken' in Indonesian, and Cemani is the village in which they first originated.

Answer: Arctic fox

The Arctic fox is distinctive with its beady black eyes and nose contrasted against the snow-white fur, but its summer coat is usually lighter and brown. This isn't universal: 1% of the Arctic foxes can have blue or grey colouring all year round. They tend to live in tundra areas in countries like Canada, Russia, Scandinavia and Iceland.

They don't hibernate and rely on their excellent sense of hearing to find animals like lemmings who remain active in tunnel systems during the winter. Their springy pounce is quite something to watch.

Answer: Eurasian magpie

Corvids are known for being intelligent birds, and magpies are no exception. In the UK, the birds have long had a superstitious association: for example variations on the rhyme 'One for Sorrow' associate seeing a certain number of magpies at any given time with outcomes like marriage, joy or death.

It may be because of their tendency to mate for life that seeing a lone magpie had negative superstitious connotations. Although associated with the theft of shiny things, researchers like Tim Birkhead are clear that the birds don't steal but are inquisitive in general.

The bird's intelligence is displayed in its ability to pass the mirror self-recognition test; if a magpie is marked and placed in front of a mirror, it will inspect the mark with its beak and feet.

This propensity for self-awareness is believed to be a precursor to consciousness in the scientific community.