Q 01/05

What does a camel's hump actually store, going limp and drooping when the animal has gone without food?

A) Water

B) Fat

C) Muscle

D) Bone

Answer · why

B) Fat

Fat, not water, fills a camel's hump as a reserve of calories for when food is scarce. The idea that the hump is a water tank is a common myth.

Q 02/05

What color is the skin hidden beneath a polar bear's thick fur?

A) Pink

B) White

C) Brown

D) Black

Answer · why

D) Black

Black skin under the coat helps a polar bear absorb heat. The hairs themselves have no pigment: they are hollow and transparent, and only look white b...

Q 03/05

Which carnivorous plant snaps shut only after its trigger hairs are touched twice within about twenty seconds?

A) Venus flytrap

B) Common butterwort

C) Cobra lily

D) Cape sundew

Answer · why

A) Venus flytrap

The Venus flytrap counts touches so that falling raindrops do not set it off. Two quick signals mean live prey, and the trap closes in about a tenth o...

Q 04/05

Which African animal's coat pattern stops biting flies from landing, even when horses wear a copy of it?

A) Okapi

B) Leopard

C) Zebra

D) Bongo

Answer · why

C) Zebra

Zebra stripes kept biting flies from landing in a 2019 study, both on the animals themselves and on horses dressed in printed coats. From a distance t...

Q 05/05

Which sea animal sleeps with only one half of its brain at a time, staying alert enough to surface and breathe?

A) Sea otter

B) Dolphin

C) Sea turtle

D) Marine iguana

Answer · why

B) Dolphin

Dolphin sleep shuts down only one brain hemisphere at a time. The half that stays awake keeps the animal breathing and on the lookout for predators an...