Animals are fascinating creatures. Whether you prefer to see animals in the wild, at a zoo, or have one as a pet in your home, chances are you have a favorite animal, one you think you know a great deal about. However, it is amazing how many animal trivia facts might be new and unusual, even about animals you think you are familiar with.
Table of Contents
Our collection of animal trivia begins with a list of interesting facts. Next, we share some animal trivia for kids, some of which even adults may not know. We also have a collection of farm animal trivia. Our article ends with animal trivia questions and answers to see just how much you and your friends know about the animals that live on, in, and under our world.
Animal Trivia Facts
You have to be very observant to know many of the animal trivia facts we have here. Others are so obscure, we doubt few if any of our readers know them. Why not keep track of how many of these trivia facts you actually knew already? Then learn some new ones to test and impress your friends and family.
- A donkey will sink in quicksand, but a mule won’t.
- A duck’s quack doesn’t echo; no one knows why.
- Reindeers’ eyes change color to help them see better. They are blue in winter light and gold or grown in summer light.
- A Holstein’s spots are like fingerprints; no two cows have the same pattern of spots.
- A pig’s skin is thickest on its back – 1/6 of an inch.
- Elephants communicate using sounds that humans are not able to hear.
- A hen needs about 24 to 26 hours to produce one egg.
- Goat’s eyes have rectangular pupils.
- Horses cannot vomit.
- Hummingbirds are the smallest birds, so tiny that one of their enemies is the praying mantis, an insect.
- The temperature of the sand determines the sex of a baby sea turtle. If the egg is exposed to warmer temperatures, a baby girl will develop. If the sand is cooler, a baby boy turtle will grow inside the egg.
- It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
- It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs, because a cow’s knees cannot bend in a way to make it possible to walk back down.
- Goats were the first animal to be domesticated, according to many historians.
- Chickens have over 200 distinct noises they can make to communicate.
- It is estimated that 3% of the glaciers in Antarctica are made up of the urine of penguins.
- Cows have a memory of about three years.
- A flamingo is gray when it is born. The shrimp and algae they eat dye their feathers pink
- A female goat is called a doe.
- The largest lizard in the world is the Komodo dragon.
- Owls with dark brown or black eyes hunt at night. Owls with red or orange eyes hunt at twilight. Owls with yellow eyes like to catch their food during the day.
- Cows are social animals who form bonds with each other, even forming cliques within a herd.
- Geese are faithful, mate for life, and mourn when their partner dies.
- Goats and sheep do not have teeth on their upper jaw; they have a hard palate that helps them grind their food.
- A cow’s glands are located in its nose.
- A snail can sleep for three years.
- More people are killed annually by donkeys, on average, then die in plane crashes.
- Some wild goats can climb trees and walk along a ledge not much wider than a tightrope.
- Ducks’ feathers are waterproof because a special gland near their tail produces oil that spreads and covers the outer coat of feathers.
- Pigs don’t have sweat glands, so they must roll in mud to stay cool and prevent sunburn.
- Cows are color blind. Bulls charge a matador’s cape because it is moving, not because it is red.
- There are only two mammals that lay eggs – the spiny anteater and the duck billed platypus.
- Cows produce about thirty percent of the methane in the atmosphere.
- The color of the egg that a chicken lays, depends on the color of its earlobes; red ear-lobed chickens lay brown eggs, while white ear-lobed lay white.
- The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
- The placement of a donkey’s eyes in its’ heads enables it to see all four feet at all times.
Farm Animal Trivia
Whether you live in the city or the country, you probably have a fascination for farm animals. After all, we get our food from farms. Also, some of the earliest animals we learn about as children are farm animals. See how much knowledge you have of the animals that live on farms and ranches in our list of farm animal trivia.
- How many compartments does a cow’s stomach have?
- What type of animal is a Flemish giant?
- Which adjective is used to describe a horse with two different colored patches, usually black and white?
- What is a baby goat called?
- What animal has breeds including Jersey, Texas Longhorn, and Belgian Blue?
- What kind of animal is the main character in the book titled Babe by Dick King-Smith?
- What farm animal shares its name with a country that is often said to border both Europe and Asia?
- What is the farm animal that becomes the best friend of Shrek?
- What farm animal has breeds named Zwartbles, Corriedale, and Merino?
- What was the first bird domesticated by man?
- How many eggs will the average hen lay in a year?
- What is a group of geese called?
- When does a pig’s tail curl?
- What is the underside of a horse’s hoof called?
- What are twelve or more cows known as?
- How much does a 1,200-pound horse eat each year?
- How much milk does a cow give in her lifetime?
- Do all chickens lay either white or brown eggs?
- What are the offspring of a chicken and turkey called?
- What are female and male ducks called?
- How many stomachs does a cow have?
- What is considered the most intelligent farm animal?
- What is the fastest movement of a horse’s natural paces?
- What items can be made from tallow, the fat of sheep?
- Do pigs sweat?
- How does a baby lamb identify its mother?
- What is a group of pigs called?
- How many toes do sheep have on each foot?
- What do cows do when a storm is coming?
- What farm animals can get sunburned?
- How much wool can one mature ewe (female sheep) produce in a year?
- How much does the average horse eat each year?
- Why does a hen cluck?
Animal Trivia for Kids
Our animal trivia for kids serves as an excellent tool for a classroom game or to educate children about the animals of our world. We have included trivia about both wild and domestic animals.
- What popular household pet has around 75 million in the US alone?
- What is the larval stage of amphibians, able to grow into frogs and salamanders?
- What animal was made globally famous by the SEGA video game Sonic?
- What bird is a predator by nature and the national emblem of the United States of America?
- What animal lives mainly in trees, and is apparently the slowest animal on the planet, taking up to 2 weeks to digest food?
- On what continent would you find the only giraffes in the wild?
- Which cute little marine creature hold hands with their friends to keep themselves from drifting apart while sleeping?
- What bird beats its wings between 60 and 80 times per second?
- Which land mammal, native to central and south America, has a tongue that stretches to two feet in length?
- What is the name of the dog in the Disney and Pixar Toy Story films?
- How many arms do most starfish have?
- How many eyes do most spiders have?
- What is a group of wolves called?
- Which bird is a symbol for peace?
- What are baby kangaroos called?
- Where is a shrimp’s heart?
- When bats fly out of a cave, do they turn left or right?
- What color is a polar bear’s skin under their white fur?
- What animal is said to have 9 lives?
- What is the only big cat that can’t roar?
- Which animal is known as man’s best friend?
- What is the only animal that can’t jump?
- How many toes does a cat have on each back paw?
- What do you call a group of fish?
- Where is the only place on their bodies that dogs can sweat?
- Who does most of the hunting for the family – male lions or female lionesses?
- What do snakes use to smell?
- Why do frogs close their eyes when they swallow?
- Which are the only birds that can fly backwards?
- What does a snake shed a few times a year?
Animal Trivia Questions and Answers
Now that you have read through our list of facts, farm animal trivia, and maybe even our animal trivia for kids, see how much you really know about animals. Try using our list of animal trivia questions and answers for a trivia game with friends and family. Have fun!
Questions
- Murder is the collective noun for a group of which bird?
- Camelopard is an old English name for which animal?
- Flittermouse is an old English name for which mammal?
- From which animal is mohair obtained?
- What is the domestic cavy better known as?
- Leveret is the name given to the babies of which animal?
- Pyrenean, Fainting, and Alpine are all breeds of which animal?
- What are the male honey bees called that are the only members of the colony allowed to mate with the queen?
- What is a male swan called?
- What is the collective name for a group of lions?
- What is the heaviest specie of monkey?
- What is the natural habitat of arboreal animals?
- What is the scientific name for the trunk of an elephant?
- What kind of animal is a karakul?
- What kind of animal is a Komodo Dragon?
- What kind of creature is a Portuguese man o’ war?
- What name is given to the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger?
- What type of animal is an impala?
- Which animal’s name comes from the ancient Greek for “horse of the river”?
- Which ape gets its name from the Malay word meaning “man of the forest”?
- Which bird has the largest wingspan of any living bird?
- Which is the fastest land animal?
- Which is the largest living bird?
- Which is the largest mammal in the world?
- Which large mammal’s tail is so strong it can stand on it and lift its hind legs off the ground?
- In what mountain range would you find the snow leopard?
- Mus musculus is the Latin name for what common animal?
- What flightless bird is the emblem of New Zealand?
- What animal has stripes and belongs to the genus Equus?
- What animal was originally domesticated by the Incas more than 3,000 years ago, and is now a household pet?
- What type of bear has a bite that is said to be strong enough to break a bowling ball?
- What is the collective name for a group of owls?
- What color is hippo sweat?
- Which country do French Poodles come from?
- In the comic strip by Jim Davis what is the name of the animal owned by Jon Arbuckle?
- What type of dog was Lassie?
- Related to a famous reading device, what is the name of a group of kittens?
- Famous for being cuddly but not great at breeding, what animal is best seen in Chengdu China?
- What animals are known as the Big 5 in Africa?
- What is the only mammal that can fly?
- In which island nation would you come across the Lemur?
- What is the largest member of the cat family?
- Zoophobia is the fear of what?
- Where would you find a polar bear – Arctic or Antarctica?
- What is a rhino’s horn made out of?
- Which animal is protected by law in Rome?
- What is the name of the common breed of cat that has no hair?
- What is the national animal of Scotland?
- With a maximum speed of over 240 mph, what is the fastest bird?
- What animal has a wingspan of around 10ft, can live to the ripe old age of 20, and is protected by the Queen of England?
- With the endearing name, the flying fox, what type of animal is it?
- What bird is mythically said to deliver babies?
- What is the collective name for a group of butterflies?
- What is the smallest mammal in the world?
- What is the smallest bird in the world?
- What animal is known for the great migration across the African plains?
- Famous for being part of the biblical plagues, and infamous for stripping crops in vast swarms, what insect belongs to the family Acrididae?
- What is the largest primate on the planet?
- Which marine animal has the largest brain?
- What is the biggest fish in the world?
Answers
- Crows
- The giraffe
- The bat
- The angora goat
- The guinea pig
- The hare
- The goat
- Drones
- A cob
- A pride
- The mandrill
- In or among trees
- Proboscis
- A sheep
- A lizard
- A jellyfish
- Liger
- An antelope
- The hippopotamus
- The orangutan
- The wandering albatross
- The cheetah
- The ostrich
- The blue whale
- The kangaroo
- The Himalayas
- A house mouse
- Kiwi
- Zebra
- Guinea pig
- Grizzly
- Parliament
- Pink
- Germany
- Garfield
- Collie
- Kindle
- Giant Panda
- Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, and Leopard
- Bat
- Madagascar
- Tiger
- Animals
- Arctic
- Hair
- Cat
- Sphynx
- Unicorn
- Peregrine Falcon
- Swan
- Bat
- Stork
- Flutter
- Bumblebee bat
- Bee Hummingbird
- Wildebeest
- Locust
- Gorilla
- Sperm Whale
- Whale shark
We hope you have enjoyed our animal trivia article, that it provided you with unique and useful information and perhaps even some laughter. Share your new knowledge with friends and family or use it for a game of trivia. Have fun!
Susan majored in English with a double minor in Humanities and Business at Arizona State University and earned a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Liberty University. She taught grades four through twelve in both public and private schools. Subjects included English, U.S. and world history and geography, math, earth and physical science, Bible, information technologies, and creative writing.
Susan has been freelance writing for over ten years, during which time she has written and edited books, newspaper articles, biographies, book reviews, guidelines, neighborhood descriptions for realtors, Power Point presentations, resumes, and numerous other projects.
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