Fascinating Animal Behaviour Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tortoise

The young hippo, named Owen, was put in an enclosure with various animals including a 130 year old male tortoise, Mzee. Conservationists think that Owen was attracted by Mzee's grey rounded shape which reminded him of his mother. Mzee had never shown any desire to be social with other animals and at first rejected the baby's efforts to befriend him but Owen persisted.

In the next year they bonded closely and became inseparable. They wallowed in the mud together, slept side by side and the little hippo even chose to eat the same food as Mzee, rather than the traditional hippo diet. Tortoises are not noted as social animals, but this one nudged Owen to go for walks, initiated play in the water, and even stretched his neck out so his little friend could give him a lick.

They even devised a form of communication using sounds different from their normal vocalisations.

Answer: European bee-eater

The European bee-eater is an amazing bird. It chases its prey, following every twist and turn, then snatches it. Returning to its perch the bird smashes the head of the bee against one side of the branch, then rubs the bee's abdomen against the other side. The rubbing causes the stunned, sometimes headless, bee to flush out its toxins and it is safe to eat.

Answer: Swimming upside down on the ocean floor to feed.

Scientists think that when these huge animals dive to depths of 600 feet to feed they sometimes swim upside down, with the warty patches of raised skin on their heads touching the bottom. They open their cave-like mouths and let the current sweep their food straight in.

Answer: Computer games

Two Sumatran orangutans are part of a research program that uses computer games to study the primates' cognitive skills. There are two games, one of which is a matching game involving selection, either of identical photos or of sounds with photos. Food pellets are given as a reward for correct answers.

The other is a painting game where the orangutans can draw pictures by moving their hands on the screen. As well as the valuable data that the Zoo is collecting on their memory, reasoning and learning, it provides the primates with a level of enrichment and decision making a step up from finding a hidden treat.

Answer: Crow

Dr Alex Taylor and his colleagues from the University of Auckland conducted an experiment which demonstrated that crows were able to combine different bits of previously acquired knowledge to solve a new problem. The crows were given a short stick, hanging by a string from a perch, near a toolbox containing a long stick and some food in a hole. Previously they had been able to get food by using either a short stick or a long stick or by pulling on a string.

The short stick did not reach the food so the crows were frustrated.

They worked out that by using the short stick to get the long stick they were successful in accessing the food.

Answer: Budgerigars

Budgerigars are small parrots belonging to the species, Melopsittacus undulatus. They make excellent pets and companions as they are not only very attractive birds who bond easily with humans, but each has its own individual personality, just like a dog or a cat. With patient training these birds can be taught words, phrases and even songs.

As well they will imitate other sounds that they hear repetitively, such as fire engine sirens. Male budgerigars have much bigger vocabularies than the females. Puck, a male budgerigar owned by American Camille Jordan, holds the world record for the largest authenticated vocabulary of any bird, 1728 words.

Answer: Yes

Elephants are obviously emotionally affected when one of their herd dies. They gather around and stand watch there for several days, touching the body with their trunks and uttering mournful sounds. Eventually they move on, but when they return to the same area they will stop for a time at the site of the death and again exhibit signs of mourning. If any bones remain, they will approach and touch them with their trunks before continuing their journey.

Answer: Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was the faithful companion of a policeman named John Gray in the 1850s. The day after his master was buried Bobby was found lying on the grave and would not be moved, even in severe weather. Local residents and shopkeepers brought him food and water.

As he was legally a stray, it was suggested that he be euthanised but when this item came before Council the Lord Provost of the city, Sir William Chambers, arranged to have the licence fees paid indefinitely. Bobby stayed at the grave until he died in 1872.

A year later Baroness Burdett Coutts had a memorial built to commemorate the life of the devoted dog.

Answer: ferrets

When ferrets have accomplished something, like finding a lost toy, they do what is called a "weasel war dance". This consists of a frenzied series of sideways hops accompanied by an arched back, dooking or hissing noises, and sometimes they spin while lying on their backs, like a break dancer.

Answer: Rats

Weetjens had bred rats as a boy and had found them easy to train. He realised that they would be the ideal animal to detect landmines. They are light so they don't detonate the mines; they stay healthy in tropical areas where many explosives are buried; they are cheap to breed and raise. Using the African giant pouched rat he trained them by giving a reward when they located TNT.

They have been successful in helping clear some mined areas in Mozambique.