Q 01/05

The black rhinoceros and its so-called white cousin are actually both which colour?

A) Cream

B) Grey

C) Olive

D) Sandy

Answer · why

B) Grey

Grey is the real colour of both African rhinos. The black rhino probably got its name as a contrast to the white rhino, or from the dark mud that drie...

Q 02/05

About half of all male black rhinos are thought to die from which cause, a record among mammals?

A) Attacks by lions

B) Starving in droughts

C) Tick-borne diseases

D) Fighting each other

Answer · why

D) Fighting each other

Fighting each other is thought to kill about half of all males, the highest rate of mortal combat recorded for any mammal.

Q 03/05

Which unusual position, studied in an Ig Nobel-winning experiment, is used to airlift black rhinos by helicopter?

A) Hanging upside down

B) Standing in a harness

C) Seated in a sling

D) Kneeling on a platform

Answer · why

A) Hanging upside down

Hanging upside down by the feet looks alarming, but it lets crews fly rhinos into rugged country with very few roads. The study that checked its safet...

Q 04/05

The red-billed oxpecker, which rides on black rhinoceroses, has a Swahili name with which meaning?

A) The rhino's doctor

B) The rhino's shadow

C) The rhino's guard

D) The rhino's child

Answer · why

C) The rhino's guard

The rhino's guard earns its name. In one study, black rhinos carrying oxpeckers noticed an approaching human every time, against 23 percent of those w...

Q 05/05

Black rhino horn is made of keratin, the protein found in which parts of the human body?

A) Hair and fingernails

B) Teeth and jawbones

C) Muscles and tendons

D) Cartilage and ligaments

Answer · why

A) Hair and fingernails

Hair and fingernails are built from the same keratin as rhino horn, and there is no good evidence that swallowing any of it has health benefits.