Q 01/05

Which part of a stoat stays black even when its coat turns white for winter?

A) The pads of its paws

B) The tips of its ears

C) The bridge of its nose

D) The tip of its tail

Answer · why

D) The tip of its tail

The tip of its tail stays black even on an all-white stoat, and weasels lack it. The dark tuft is thought to act as a decoy, drawing a bird of prey's ...

Q 02/05

Stoats were shipped to New Zealand in the late 1800s to control which pest of sheep pasture?

A) Rabbits

B) Rats

C) Red deer

D) Goats

Answer · why

A) Rabbits

Rabbits had become a plague on sheep farms, so farmers demanded stoats despite warnings from bird experts. Within six years of the first releases, nat...

Q 03/05

A weasel's head can fit through which piece of jewellery, a test the larger stoat's head fails?

A) A hoop earring

B) A wedding ring

C) A charm bracelet

D) A slim bangle

Answer · why

B) A wedding ring

A wedding ring is wide enough for a weasel's head but too tight for a stoat's. Weasels also have a wavy line where the brown back meets the pale belly...

Q 04/05

Which Renaissance artist painted Lady with an Ermine, a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani holding a white stoat?

A) Sandro Botticelli

B) Piero della Francesca

C) Leonardo da Vinci

D) Giovanni Bellini

Answer · why

C) Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci painted it around 1490, though the animal is thought too large to be a real ermine. The picture hangs in Kraków and is counted among...

Q 05/05

Why is a hunting stoat said to leap, twist and thrash about in a frenzied 'dance' near its victim?

A) To tire it out

B) To mesmerise it

C) To mask its scent

D) To warn off rivals

Answer · why

B) To mesmerise it

To mesmerise it is the traditional answer: the leaping and thrashing seems to hypnotise its prey. Another theory blames the antics on a parasite infec...