Q 01/05

Red foxes pouncing on mice hidden under deep snow appear to line up their leap using what?

A) Ultraviolet urine trails

B) Earth's magnetic field

C) Infrared body heat

D) Polarised moonlight

Answer · why

B) Earth's magnetic field

Earth's magnetic field seems to help the fox judge its jump: it pinpoints the prey by sound, then sails through the air to land on a target up to 5 me...

Q 02/05

In Finnish folklore, a fox running through snowy hills conjures which display in the sky?

A) Shooting stars

B) The Milky Way

C) Summer lightning

D) Northern lights

Answer · why

D) Northern lights

Northern lights are still called revontulet in Finnish, a word that literally translates as fox-fires.

Q 03/05

The scent gland near the base of a red fox's tail is reported to smell like which flower?

A) Roses

B) Lavender

C) Violets

D) Lilies

Answer · why

C) Violets

Violets are the scent reported for this gland, whose position is usually marked by a small black spot in the fur.

Q 04/05

The web browser Firefox, whose logo shows a fox, is actually named after which animal?

A) Red panda

B) Maned wolf

C) Flying fox

D) Tree kangaroo

Answer · why

A) Red panda

Red panda is the animal behind the name: firefox is a common name for it, even though the animal drawn in the browser's logo is a stylised fox.

Q 05/05

Which country released red foxes for sport in the 1800s and now counts them a major pest?

A) Madagascar

B) Indonesia

C) Australia

D) Iceland

Answer · why

C) Australia

Australia now has millions of red foxes, and their spread has gone hand in hand with the decline of native animals such as bilbies, numbats and quokka...