Animal Kingdom Quiz
Three hearts, black skin, a 507-year-old clam. Fifteen questions from the wild side.
What is the fastest land animal?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cheetah
Cheetahs reach around 60 to 70 mph in short bursts, with a flexible spine and semi-retractable claws that let them cover more than 20 feet per stride.
The pronghorn is the fastest over long distances, able to hold about 35 mph for several miles.
What is the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Blue whale
Blue whales reach around 100 feet and 150 tons or more, heavier than any known dinosaur, with a heart roughly the size of a small car.
Despite its size, a blue whale feeds almost entirely on krill, eating up to four tons of them a day in summer.
How many hearts does an octopus have?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
3
Two branchial hearts pump blood through the gills while a third systemic heart sends it around the body, and that third heart stops whenever the octopus swims.
Octopus blood is blue because it uses copper-based hemocyanin instead of iron-based hemoglobin to carry oxygen.
Which bird, native to the rainforests of central Africa, is famous for mimicking human speech with uncanny accuracy?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
African grey parrot
African grey parrots reproduce words, tones and household sounds; a grey named Alex learned over 100 words and could identify colors and shapes.
Wild greys are endangered, largely because of trapping for the pet trade, and were given the highest level of CITES protection in 2016.
What is a group of flamingos called?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Flamboyance
A group of flamingos is a flamboyance, a fitting name for birds whose pink color comes from carotenoid pigments in the shrimp and algae they eat.
Flamingos stand on one leg partly to conserve body heat, and the pose takes almost no muscular effort.
Which mammal can truly fly (not just glide)?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bat
Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight; their wings are elongated finger bones covered by a thin, elastic membrane.
Around 1,400 bat species make up roughly one in five of all known mammal species.
What is the most venomous snake in the world by toxicity?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Inland taipan
The inland taipan of central Australia has the most toxic venom of any snake, with a single bite carrying enough to kill around 100 adults.
There are no confirmed human deaths from inland taipans, because they are shy and live in remote, sparsely populated country.
How long can a cockroach survive without its head?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Up to a week
A cockroach breathes through spiracles along its body and has no blood pressure to lose, so it survives decapitation until it dies of thirst about a week later.
Cockroaches can also hold their breath for around 40 minutes and survive being fully submerged.
Which animal, nicknamed Ming, was found to be 507 years old, the oldest individual animal ever precisely aged?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Ocean quahog clam
Ming, an ocean quahog clam dredged up off Iceland in 2006, was aged by counting its shell growth rings; it had been alive since 1499.
Greenland sharks may live 400 years or more, and some deep-sea sponges are thought to be thousands of years old.
Which animal has the strongest bite force?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater crocodiles have been measured biting at about 3,700 pounds per square inch, the strongest bite ever recorded in a living animal.
The muscles that open a crocodile's jaws are weak, which is why a person can hold a croc's mouth shut with bare hands.
Penguins live wild across the Southern Hemisphere. Which of these places has NO wild penguins?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The Arctic
Penguins are found only south of the equator, apart from the Galapagos penguin that straddles it, so polar bears and penguins never meet in the wild.
South Africa's African penguin lives on beaches near Cape Town and is nicknamed the jackass penguin for its braying call.
What color is a polar bear's skin underneath its white fur?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Black
Polar bear skin is black to absorb heat, and the fur is actually translucent; it looks white because the hollow hairs scatter visible light.
In warm zoos polar bear fur can turn greenish when algae grow inside the hollow hair shafts.
Which insects are considered the world's most important pollinators of food crops?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bees
Bees, both honeybees and around 20,000 wild species, are the main pollinators of most of the fruit, nut and vegetable crops we eat.
About 75% of the world's leading food crops depend at least partly on animal pollinators, according to the UN's food agency.
What unique ability do axolotls have that most vertebrates do not?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Regenerating lost limbs
Axolotls can regrow entire limbs, tails, parts of the heart and even portions of the brain, all without scarring.
Axolotls are critically endangered in the wild, surviving only in the canals around Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City.
How many species of shark are estimated to exist?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Over 500
Scientists have described more than 500 shark species, from the 8-inch dwarf lanternshark to the 60-foot whale shark.
Sharks have existed for over 400 million years, predating trees and surviving all five mass extinctions.
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All Science quizzes →About the Animal Kingdom Quiz
An octopus has three hearts and blue blood. A polar bear's skin is black. A clam dredged up off Iceland turned out to have been alive since 1499. The animal kingdom is stranger than any fiction, with something like 8.7 million species spread from the Mariana Trench to the Himalayan snowline, and most of them are still waiting for a name.
These 15 questions cover mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and sea life, mixing famous records like the fastest land animal and the strongest bite with the odd surprise about cockroaches, axolotls and penguins. It suits families, nature documentary fans and classrooms, since every answer comes with a short explanation and a bonus fact, and the trickier questions are still fair for a curious ten-year-old.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What kinds of animals are in the Animal Kingdom Quiz?
Big cats, whales, octopuses, parrots, flamingos, bats, snakes, cockroaches, clams, crocodiles, penguins, polar bears, bees, axolotls and sharks all make an appearance across the 15 questions.
Is the quiz suitable for kids?
Yes. It is family-friendly and works well for animal-loving children aged around ten and up, with a few record questions that will stretch adults too.
Where do the animal facts come from?
Records and figures are checked against sources such as National Geographic, the Smithsonian, the IUCN and published zoological research, and each explanation states the specific fact behind the answer.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- What is the fastest land animal?
Cheetah Cheetahs reach around 60 to 70 mph in short bursts, with a flexible spine and semi-retractable claws that let them cover more than 20 feet per stride. The pronghorn is the fastest over long distances, able to hold about 35 mph for several miles. - What is the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth?
Blue whale Blue whales reach around 100 feet and 150 tons or more, heavier than any known dinosaur, with a heart roughly the size of a small car. Despite its size, a blue whale feeds almost entirely on krill, eating up to four tons of them a day in summer. - How many hearts does an octopus have?
3 Two branchial hearts pump blood through the gills while a third systemic heart sends it around the body, and that third heart stops whenever the octopus swims. Octopus blood is blue because it uses copper-based hemocyanin instead of iron-based hemoglobin to carry oxygen. - Which bird, native to the rainforests of central Africa, is famous for mimicking human speech with uncanny accuracy?
African grey parrot African grey parrots reproduce words, tones and household sounds; a grey named Alex learned over 100 words and could identify colors and shapes. Wild greys are endangered, largely because of trapping for the pet trade, and were given the highest level of CITES protection in 2016. - What is a group of flamingos called?
Flamboyance A group of flamingos is a flamboyance, a fitting name for birds whose pink color comes from carotenoid pigments in the shrimp and algae they eat. Flamingos stand on one leg partly to conserve body heat, and the pose takes almost no muscular effort. - Which mammal can truly fly (not just glide)?
Bat Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight; their wings are elongated finger bones covered by a thin, elastic membrane. Around 1,400 bat species make up roughly one in five of all known mammal species. - What is the most venomous snake in the world by toxicity?
Inland taipan The inland taipan of central Australia has the most toxic venom of any snake, with a single bite carrying enough to kill around 100 adults. There are no confirmed human deaths from inland taipans, because they are shy and live in remote, sparsely populated country. - How long can a cockroach survive without its head?
Up to a week A cockroach breathes through spiracles along its body and has no blood pressure to lose, so it survives decapitation until it dies of thirst about a week later. Cockroaches can also hold their breath for around 40 minutes and survive being fully submerged. - Which animal, nicknamed Ming, was found to be 507 years old, the oldest individual animal ever precisely aged?
Ocean quahog clam Ming, an ocean quahog clam dredged up off Iceland in 2006, was aged by counting its shell growth rings; it had been alive since 1499. Greenland sharks may live 400 years or more, and some deep-sea sponges are thought to be thousands of years old. - Which animal has the strongest bite force?
Saltwater crocodile Saltwater crocodiles have been measured biting at about 3,700 pounds per square inch, the strongest bite ever recorded in a living animal. The muscles that open a crocodile's jaws are weak, which is why a person can hold a croc's mouth shut with bare hands. - Penguins live wild across the Southern Hemisphere. Which of these places has NO wild penguins?
The Arctic Penguins are found only south of the equator, apart from the Galapagos penguin that straddles it, so polar bears and penguins never meet in the wild. South Africa's African penguin lives on beaches near Cape Town and is nicknamed the jackass penguin for its braying call. - What color is a polar bear's skin underneath its white fur?
Black Polar bear skin is black to absorb heat, and the fur is actually translucent; it looks white because the hollow hairs scatter visible light. In warm zoos polar bear fur can turn greenish when algae grow inside the hollow hair shafts. - Which insects are considered the world's most important pollinators of food crops?
Bees Bees, both honeybees and around 20,000 wild species, are the main pollinators of most of the fruit, nut and vegetable crops we eat. About 75% of the world's leading food crops depend at least partly on animal pollinators, according to the UN's food agency. - What unique ability do axolotls have that most vertebrates do not?
Regenerating lost limbs Axolotls can regrow entire limbs, tails, parts of the heart and even portions of the brain, all without scarring. Axolotls are critically endangered in the wild, surviving only in the canals around Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City. - How many species of shark are estimated to exist?
Over 500 Scientists have described more than 500 shark species, from the 8-inch dwarf lanternshark to the 60-foot whale shark. Sharks have existed for over 400 million years, predating trees and surviving all five mass extinctions.
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