The Wondrous Ones Trivia Quiz

Answer: Their memory

Elephants in captivity can anger because they remember ill-treatment, for instance. Attacks on circus and zoo keepers are known. Chained by their feet, beatings, and other cruel training methods contribute to their anger.

On the other hand, the case of Jenny and Shirley at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee tells of two elephants who arrived at different times and from different places. Jenny became very excited at the arrival of Shirley in 1999 - could they have known each other before? They had an emotional reunion and became best friends. A sanctuary worker found that they had been together for a short time in a circus 23 years before. Amazing and wondrous.

Answer: Australia

After falling overboard, Sophie swam twelve hours through shark-infested waters to reach St. Bee's Island in the Great Barrier Reef. There, she survived by eating goats and living as a feral dog. She was wild and wouldn't let rangers catch her. After four months, she was trapped and sent to the mainland. Her owners heard of the "wild dog" and went to see it - it was Sophie! She immediately became their beloved pet again, a wild dog no more.

Sophie's and other dogs' instinct for survival is truly wondrous. You can read about her in the book, "Sophie" by Emma Pearse.

Answer: Few sweat glands

Without effective sweat glands, pigs must wallow in mud to keep cool. The water is cooling and the dried mud proects their skin from the sun. They are actually clean animals.

Some researchers feel pigs to be smarter than dogs and can learn many things. I think pigs are quite wonderful.

Answer: Squid and cuttlefish

The octopus is also a cephalopod, maybe the smartest one of all. They have been found to have many talents such as escaping from aquariums and being able to navigate mazes set up for them. Their slippery abilities make them poor pets for most people. If you are interested, there is a video on youtube showing an octopus opening a jar to get at his dinner. Pretty wondrous!

Answer: Corvus corone

Researchers have found that crows (Corvous corone) have deductive reasoning and 250 language calls, just two indicators of intelligence. Also, they can be trained to do such things as pick up lost coins and drop them in "crow boxes" Why? Because there are billions of coins a year dropped on the ground and lost, this is a way to recover some of them.

They like to live within five miles of humans, and they can recognize individual humans, they remember you and may attack you if you play a dirty trick on them, such as spray them with water.

Another sign of high intelligence is that they learn from their elders, and from their relatives, ravens. Perhaps they watch us and learn from us.

Oh yes, about the murder of crows name - It seems a long ago folk tale or belief was that crows would gather to judge and punish a bad member of the flock. If he was found guilty, the flock would murder him, At least that's one possible explanation of a wondrous belief about a wondrous bird.

Answer: A Sponge

Researchers have seen dolphins using what they have available to them as tools, or in the case of sponges, as protection while looking for food.

There are many kinds of dolphins, some that live in rivers instead of seas, but the most familiar to us is the bottlenose dolphin. Orcas, or "killer whales", are also in the dolphin family.

These magnificent animals have excellent eyesight and hearing. Their hearing is far above humans in range. They also live in social groups, called pods, and can communicate with each other with a kind of dolphin speech. Also, they have been known to help humans, such as protecting swimmers from sharks.
Dolphins are wondrous to behold!

Answer: Change skin color

Some chameleons can turn almost any color, while others stay in the green and brown range. The color changes are due to cells with color pigment in their skin. These cells are also able to mix colors. Science tells us that the changes are not because the animal wants to blend in with surroundings, but are, instead, responses to, mainly, light, temperature and mood. They can also use color changes to communicate with fellow chameleons.

In addition, chameleons have eyes that see in different directions (the better to spot prey), and their eyes can move 360 degrees. Their hearing, though, leaves much to be desired. They catch their food with very long tongues that dart out of their mouths faster than the eye can see.

But for most of us, it's their beautiful colors that make them, perhaps, the most wondrous lizard of them all.

Answer: Tigers and jaguars

Tigers seem to love the water, unlike your housecat. They cool off in nearby bodies of water and often bathe there. They can sometimes be seen carrying prey through water.

All remaining tigers (some are extinct) are endangered. Again, as with many endangered species, loss of habitat is one of the main culprits. Tigers are carnivorous and at the top of the food chain with no natural predators, but require large areas of habitat. They are often in competition with humans for space, humans are often the losers.

In spite of the danger the species is in, they are an honored beast. The tiger is the national animal of India (which has about 1/3 of the world's tigers), and other Asian nations.

Tigers are so beautiful, graceful and important for people to see and enjoy, that we hope these wondrous animals will survive.

Answer: Rotating feet

Yes, they can climb down quickly because their hind feet can rotate so that they are pointing backwards, and down they go, headfirst. I saw a mother raccoon do this with a baby in her mouth, but I didn't know how she did it. This is one thing they do well, but they can't jump far or run fast because of their short hind legs.

Raccoons are native to North America and many have adapted to living in cities. They don't construct their own homes, but find ready-made accomodation. The mother raccoon that I saw lived in the top of a brick pillar on my porch. She was moving her babies, one-by-one, in her mouth, to a new location. I have seen a family of them feasting on my grapevine and fallen apples (at night). They also like meats and grains, and of course garbage. They often seem to be washing their food using water, but perhaps they are only picking off unwanted parts.

I find raccoons wondrous for the way they have adapted to an unfriendly environment (the city). Unlike others, I don't find them to be a nuisance or annoying, just a wonderful part of nature.

Answer: El Cid

Babieca was given to Ruy Diaz (El Cid) by his Godfather when Ruy was a boy. The horse was Andalusian, a Spanish breed. This breed is usually about 15.2 hands high and has a commanding presence with spectacular paces. These horses are courageous and spirited but usually gentle and docile, as was Babieca.

Babieca was the warhorse of El Cid for 30 years as he tried to free Spain from the Moors. Before the final battle at Valencia in 1099, El Cid died but left final instructions; he was to be strapped to the back of his fearless horse, and the horse and body would lead the troops into battle. His shield was secured in place and El Cid's armored body with sword upright led the horsemen to the Moorish camp. It seemed a ghostly presence on a white horse to the Moors and they fled, thinking El Cid had risen from the dead. El Cid and Babieca had won the last battle. No one ever rode Babeica again and the heroic horse died two years later at age 40. Today there stands a memorial to Babeica on the former site of the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena, Burgos, Spain.

I leave with the thought; horses are wondrous.