By Fefi Palavecino
Last Tuesday, October 13, the Nature & Conservation Society had our second social of the term. This Zoom Ice Breaker quizzed new and old members on a variety of topics, from classic David Attenborough trivia to South American bird breeding behaviours. Do you know how many genera and species have been named after the famous British natural historian?
Long-time member Roxane took the top spot, but several new members were right behind her. It was so lovely to discuss trivial topics with old friends and new faces and gave us all a feeling of normality in these difficult times. The conversation quickly led to Googling some of the quiz topics, such as the elusively named "tasselled wobbegong", a beautiful species of carpet shark.
Want to try the quiz yourself? Here are the questions!
1. When was “On the Origin of Species” published?
a. 1859
b. 1876
c. 1837
d. 1862
2. True or false: The grey squirrel is native to the British Isles
a. True
b. False
3. What type of dog is Snoopy?
a. Beagle
b. Poodle
c. Fox terrier
d. Labrador
4. What other bird were dodos closely related to?
a. Ostriches
b. Pigeons
c. Emus
d. Flamingoes
5. What bird is this? (c) RSPB
a. Willow tit
b. Great tit
c. Coal tit
d. Blue tit
6. Does the male or female rhea take care of its young?
a. Male
b. Female
c. They work together
7. How many species and genera have been named after David Attenborough?
a. 13
b. 31
c. 17
d. 20
8. What does Dendrochronology mean?
a. The science of calculating a tree’s age by its rings
b. The study of digits in evolutionary history
c. The science of den building in burrowing mammals
9. How many neck vertebrae do most mammals have?
a. 11
b. 7
c. 5
d. 10
10. In the story, where is Paddington Bear originally from?
a. China
b. North America
c. Peru
d. Europe
11. Which one of these plants does NOT cause hallucinations?
a. Ayahuasca
b. Hydrangea (hortensia)
c. Basil
d. Nutmeg
12. Which one of these political figures is vegan?
a. Boris Johnson
b. George W Bush
c. Bill Clinton
d. Barack Obama
13. To which island(s) were dodos endemic to?
a. Madagascar
b. Cuba
c. Mauritius
d. Indonesia
14. How many bat species are there in the UK?
a. 2
b. 18
c. 50
d. 37
15. What’s the national animal of Scotland?
a. Loch Ness monster
b. Unicorn
c. Puffins
d. Trolls
16. Which of these animal names is made up?
a. Tasseled Wobbegong
b. Strange-Tailed Tyrant
c. Hellbender
d. Mackled Malacaw
We’re all looking forward to our next Zoom social, our Film Debate on David Attenborough’s new documentary, A Life on Our Planet. Check out the details on our Facebook page, grab your membership and see you there!
Answers: A, B, A, B, D, A, D, A, B, C, C, C, C, B, B, D