Test your knowledge with these top questions!
A beaver slaps its flat tail on the water mainly to do what?
The loud splash can send other beavers diving underwater, where land predators have a harder time reaching them.
Raccoons sometimes dip food in water. Wetting their paws improves which sense?
Raccoons can eat dry food, so dipping a meal in water is not a required cleaning step.
Which beaver feature supplies most of the power for swimming?
A beaver's broad tail helps steer in water, working more like a rudder than the main paddle.
Which metal helps give a beaver's front teeth their orange color?
Iron-rich enamel helps protect a beaver's teeth against wear and acid as the animal gnaws through wood.
When are raccoons usually most active?
Raccoons often spend daylight hours resting in hollow trees, chimneys, or other sheltered dens.
What is a beaver's dome-shaped home made of branches and mud called?
Beavers coat their lodges with mud, which can freeze into a hard barrier against predators during winter.
How many digits does a raccoon have on each front paw?
A raccoon can handle small objects with its front digits, even though it has no opposable thumbs.
Which term describes raccoons eating both plant and animal foods?
Raccoons change their menu with the season, eating ripe fruit and taking aquatic prey near water.
Dog domestication began before humans widely adopted which practice?
Dogs joined hunter-gatherers before farming, making them the first animal humans domesticated.
Which monkey can use a fully prehensile tail to grip branches?
Spider monkeys use the bare gripping pad under the tail tip like a fifth limb high in forest canopies.