Test your safari trivia with our short quiz below...

How many questions below can you get right? 

(Scroll slowly, the answers follow each individual question). 

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Q1: Which two traits do lions and leopards have in common that separates them from cheetah?

A: Both are territorial & have a habit of males forming coalitions 

B: Both have the ability to roar & have retractable claws 

C: Both can climb trees & grow a mane

Lions and leopards are both members of the Panthera genus, along with tigers and jaguars. The main differentiating factor that the Panthera genus have from other cats is the ability to roar. Cheetah are in fact the only remaining species of the genus Acinonyx and make more of a chirping or purring sound. 

Cheetah are also the only one of these three cats that cannot retract its claws, something believed to help them with grip while running at high speeds. 

So, the answer is B: Have the ability to roar & have retractable claws.

Q2: Which animal caused these marks on the tamboti tree in the image below?

A: Elephant

B: Squirrel

C: Porcupine

Incredibly, the answer is C: Porcupine. 

Porcupines’ teeth are extremely sharp and have adapted to become very good wood cutters. They will eat the bark and nutritious inner cambium layer. 

They also sometimes have a habit of ring-barking trees, which has the undesired side-effect of killing the tree.

Q3: How many sets of teeth do elephant grow in a lifetime?

A: 6

B: 2

C: 14

Elephants have 6 sets of teeth during their lifetime, which are pushed forward from the back of their mouths. 

Interestingly, the cause of death in many elephants is in fact from malnutrition as a result of their last set of teeth wearing out rendering them unable to digest enough nutrients. 

Q4: Which of the below could you not use to differentiate between black and white rhino?

A: Number of toes

B: Dung

C: Curvature of back

D: Shape of ears

E: Size

There are many factors that differentiate between black and rhino, but both African species have 3 toes, so the answer is A!

A black rhino has a deeper curve in its back, rounder ears and is smaller than a white rhino. White rhino dung is made up of grass as opposed to leaves and twigs in black rhino dung.

Q5: What is the gestation period of an elephant? 

A: 9 months

B: 18 months

C: 22 months

Elephants have the longest gestation period of all land mammals at a staggering 22 months. Newborn elephants weigh around 90kg at birth!

Interestingly, predators have much shorter gestation periods than prey species. This is due to the young of prey species needing to be able to run pretty much instantly and therefore need to be better developed when born. Conversely, predators can’t afford to be weighed down, reducing their ability to hunt.  

How did you do?

0 – 2 correct - Hyena: Laughing stock

3 – 4 correct - Elephant: Solid effort

5 correct - Lion: Top of the food chain!

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