Q 01/05

The zoologist who gave the sloth bear its misleading name later checked which Australian animal for hoaxers' stitches?

A) Koala

B) Platypus

C) Numbat

D) Thylacine

Answer · why

B) Platypus

Platypus skins looked so much like a prank that George Shaw took scissors to one to hunt for stitches. He had earlier filed the sloth bear among the s...

Q 02/05

Sloth bears are the only bears whose cubs routinely travel in which way, gripping their mother's shaggy fur?

A) In her mouth

B) Under her belly

C) On her back

D) Between her paws

Answer · why

C) On her back

On her back is where a sloth bear cub rides for its first six to nine months, clinging to a saddle of extra-long fur. Littermates squabble to keep the...

Q 03/05

A sloth bear mother with cubs has been seen standing her ground against two of which predator, one after the other?

A) Leopard

B) Wolf

C) Python

D) Tiger

Answer · why

D) Tiger

The tiger is the sloth bear's most dangerous natural enemy, so the bear has evolved to charge instead of flee. Most of these cats give up once the bea...

Q 04/05

Baloo, the sloth bear of The Jungle Book, takes his name from the word for bear in which language?

A) Tamil

B) Hindi

C) Persian

D) Marathi

Answer · why

B) Hindi

Hindi speakers call a bear bhalu, and the book's author gave the pronunciation as BAH-loo. In the stories Baloo is the stern teacher of jungle law.

Q 05/05

Sloth bears can close which body part at will to keep out dust and insects while raiding a termite mound?

A) Ear canals

B) Windpipe

C) Nostrils

D) Tear ducts

Answer · why

C) Nostrils

Nostrils that seal shut let the bear blow dust off a nest and then inhale the insects without breathing in grit. Its nose is also nearly hairless.