"D" is For Dog, and Also For....? Quiz

Answer: Domesticated Yak

The yak is native to Asia, ranging from the Himalayan plateau of Tibet to northern Mongolia and Russia. Most are the domesticated yak ('Bos grunniens'), although a small population of wild yak ('Bos mutus') can still be found. Other than the gaur (aka the Indian bison), wild yaks are the largest of all bovine species. Their domesticated cousins, though, are significantly smaller.

Bred mostly for their milk, meat and wool, yak droppings are often the only source of fuel on the high Tibetan Plateau. Curiously, their diet means that they are unsuitable for carrying goods over long distances -- they will not eat grain, which can be carried, and will therefore starve if crossing regions where no fresh grass is available.

Domesticated yaks have also been adapted for sporting purposes in Tibet. Not only is yak racing popular at festivals, but yak polo and even yak skiing -- before you get a picture of a yak on skis in your head, though (and wouldn't that be worth seeing), this involves the yak being encouraged (bribed with food) to charge down a hill, thus pulling a skier connected via ropes and pulleys up an adjacent hill.

Answer: Dolphin

There are 30 species of dolphin in the Delphinidae family. The smallest, at around 5 feet in length and weighing around 110 pounds, is Maui's dolphin. The largest member of the family is the 31-foot, 10-ton killer whale.

All dolphin species are carnivorous, most eating a diet of fish, squid and small crustaceans. The largest eat marine mammals and birds too. Although there is a species specifically called the 'common dolphin', this is not the species that immediately springs to mind when one says "dolphin" -- that is actually the bottlenose dolphin, which found fame in the TV series "Flipper" and is most often the species seen in marine parks.

Answer: Drever

These small hounds used for tracking deer were first brought from Germany to Sweden in 1910, and a 1947 newspaper contest was used to arrive at the name of the new breed that developed, the Drever. Still considered in many countries as a 'rare breed', it was recognized in 1996 by the United Kennel Club and added to the Scenthound Group.

Despite a maximum height for the breed of 15 inches, drevers are bred to hunt game of all sizes, from hares and foxes to roe deer and red deer. The breed is particularly noted for its stamina.

Answer: Dama Gazelle

The dama gazelle (also sometimes called the addra gazelle or the mhorr gazelle) is known in the local Hausa language as 'ménas', which is also the nickname of the Niger soccer team.

Standing between 35 and 37 inches tall at the shoulder with very long legs, the dama gazelle is the largest of all gazelle species. Able to go for long periods without water, they are unusual amongst desert-dwelling mammals in that they are most active during the day. The number of dama gazelle remaining has declined by 80% since the turn of the 21st century due to a combination of hunting, habitat loss and diseases inherited from livestock. Estimates suggest there are only around 300 individuals remaining in 2016.

Answer: Devon Rex

Developed in England in the 1960s, the Devon Rex is sometimes called an "alien cat" because of its unique appearance. They tend to try and find the room's highest spot, so will often be found perched on shelves or in tight nooks and crannies. A faithful companion, they also like to wrap themselves around their owner's neck and head.

Answer: Donkey

The donkey (or ass) has been used by man as a working animal for more than 5000 years. Today, many of the 40 million donkeys in the world are used as pack animals, mostly in less-developed countries.

Numerous species of donkey range in side from 7-15 hands (30-63 inches) tall and from 180-1,060 pounds in weight. Life expectancy for working donkeys in poor countries is less than 15 years, but for those kept as pets in more developed nations it can be double that.

Answer: Dusky Grouse

A close cousin of the sooty grouse and the blue grouse, the dusky grouse is usually black with a white throat (male) or mottled brown with dark brown and white marks (such as the pictured female).

They can be seen foraging either on the ground or in trees for a diet of fir and pine needles during winter months or for a selection of ants, beetles and grasshoppers during the breeding season.

Answer: Dik-Dik

The dik-dik is named for the shrill, whistling alarm call made by females to warn of predators. Standing only 12-15 inches tall at the shoulder and weighing in at between 6-13 pounds, the females are significantly larger than the males, although only the males grow the distinctive 3-inch long backward slanting horns.

Herbivores with a diet consisting of foliage, shoots, fruit and berries, dik-diks can be found both in dense forest and open plains. They are also one of the few mammal species that do not need to drink, receiving sufficient liquid from their food.

The four species in the Madoqua genus are Gunther's dik-dik, Kirk's dik-dik, Silver dik-dik and Salt's dik-dik.

Answer: Diana Monkey

The Diana monkey, 'Cercopithecus diana', was named because the white band across its forehead was thought to resemble the crescent on the brow of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature.

A medium-sized primate, Diana monkeys grow to between 18 and 24 inches in height, with a tail that is 22-33 inches in length. Whilst they feed mostly on fruit and insects, they are high on the menu for leopards, chimpanzees and hawk-eagles. The Diana monkey has a range of alarm calls to differentiate between types of predator, and many bird species with whom they share the canopy have learned to understand these and take appropriate action.

Answer: Discus

The three species of discus fish in the Symphsodon genus are generally differentiated by colour, blue, red/ brown and yellow/green. So named because of their distinctive round shape, discus fish are most commonly found in the deepest rivers of the Amazon basin, where they hide between roots and in deep rocky crevices.

They are popular as aquarium fish, particularly in Asia, and as a food fish for the local South American population.