Q 01/05

A virus that grows horn-like lumps on cottontail rabbits may have inspired which mythical creature?

A) Chupacabra

B) Jackalope

C) Wendigo

D) Thunderbird

Answer · why

B) Jackalope

Jackalope tales of antlered rabbits likely grew from real animals: the Shope papilloma virus raises horn-like growths on or near a cottontail's head.

Q 02/05

Which president used a paddle to fend off a swimming swamp rabbit, cousin of the eastern cottontail?

A) Gerald Ford

B) Ronald Reagan

C) Jimmy Carter

D) Bill Clinton

Answer · why

C) Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was fishing on a pond in Georgia in 1979 when the animal swam straight at his boat, and the press gleefully labelled it a killer rabbit a...

Q 03/05

To squeeze more nutrients from tough plants, an eastern cottontail swallows what for a second time?

A) Its own droppings

B) Its shed winter fur

C) Buried seed pods

D) Dried grass stems

Answer · why

A) Its own droppings

Its own droppings, or rather the soft pellets passed after plants ferment in the gut, are eaten again so the goodness can be absorbed on a second trip...

Q 04/05

Eastern cottontails rarely dig, so in harsh weather they shelter in burrows left by which animals?

A) Chipmunks

B) River otters

C) Muskrats

D) Groundhogs

Answer · why

D) Groundhogs

Groundhogs leave behind roomy dens that cottontails borrow in deep snow or bitter cold; the rest of the time the rabbit simply rests above ground.

Q 05/05

Like every rabbit, the eastern cottontail is physically unable to do which of these things?

A) Swim

B) Yawn

C) Vomit

D) Blink

Answer · why

C) Vomit

Vomit is something no rabbit can bring up, so a blocked gut is dangerous, which is one reason a rabbit's diet needs plenty of fibre.