Q 01/05

Which Founding Father wrote a mock epitaph for Mungo, a pet squirrel he gave an English bishop's daughter?

A) Thomas Jefferson

B) John Adams

C) Benjamin Franklin

D) George Washington

Answer · why

C) Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin consoled Georgiana Shipley in 1772 after Mungo escaped his cage and was killed by a dog, offering the rhyme 'Here Skugg lies snug as...

Q 02/05

Besides balance and signalling, a squirrel's bushy tail serves which purpose?

A) Digging burrows with its stiff hairs

B) Carrying food back to the nest

C) Cooling off by pumping blood through it

D) Storing fat for the winter

Answer · why

C) Cooling off by pumping blood through it

Cooling off by pumping blood through it is one job; the tail also shields against rain and cold, and its fine hairs are prized for tying fishing flies...

Q 03/05

Squirrels eat nuts, seeds and fungi but also insects and bird eggs; what type of diet is that?

A) Herbivore

B) Carnivore

C) Insectivore

D) Omnivore

Answer · why

D) Omnivore

Omnivore: most species top up a plant-based diet of nuts, seeds, fruit and fungi with insects, bird eggs or small vertebrates.

Q 04/05

Which squirrel, weighing under 20 grams, is usually named the smallest in the world?

A) Neotropical pygmy

B) Least chipmunk

C) African pygmy

D) Amazon dwarf

Answer · why

C) African pygmy

African pygmy squirrels average about 16 grams and run along the underside of a branch as easily as along the top.

Q 05/05

What is the name for a squirrel's nest made from twigs and leaves, typically found in tree branches?

A) Burrow

B) Sett

C) Lodge

D) Drey

Answer · why

D) Drey

Drey: the hollow ball of twigs and leaves sits wedged in a high fork, and new ones become obvious each autumn when leaf-fall exposes them.