Animals in World History

Can you guess these types of animals that made an appearance in the history of the world?

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Last updated: October 27, 2020

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First submitted	October 27, 2020
Times taken	26,833
Average score	75.0%
Rating	4.56

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Hint	Answer
St. Patrick supposedly drove these animals away from Ireland	Snakes
Of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac, the only one that doesn't exist in real life	Dragon
Many ancient generals employed these huge animals in their armies, Hannibal most famously	Elephants
Laika was a Soviet ___ that became the first animal to orbit Earth in 1957	Dog
Animal that appeared on the standard of the Roman legions	Eagle
Clever Hans was a famous _____ that supposedly could do arithmetic, but it turned out to be a hoax	Horse
This bird went extinct quickly after Mauritius was first settled in the 1600s	Dodo
In the Middle Ages, people thought the horns of this aquatic creature came from unicorns	Narwhal
Animal that (probably) captured and ate an Australian woman's baby in 1980	Dingo
Fabric-making animal that Byzantine monks smuggled out of China around 550 AD	Silkworm
Aquatic animal that appeared on the coat of arms of the French royal heir	Dolphin
Supposedly, sailors were afraid to kill this type of birds, but in reality they often shot and ate them	Albatross
Wading bird that was sacred in ancient Egypt	Ibis
Many riots between Muslims and Hindus have been sparked by the slaughter, or alleged slaughter, of this holy animal	Cow
A flock of these large, noisy birds alerted ancient Romans to a Gaulic attack	Geese
In the book "Animal Farm", these animals ran the show	Pigs
Some people think the legend of the Kraken may be based on this real-life animal	Giant squid
In a Roman legend, Arachne was transformed into a _____ after she bested the goddess Athena in a weaving contest	Spider
According to the Bible, Noah released one of these birds to see if the flood had receded	Dove
The Greek god Pan had the legs of a ____	Goat

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44 Comments

+15

Level 72

Oct 28, 2020

Noah also released a raven to check if the flood had subsided, so perhaps allow this?

Level 81

Nov 5, 2020

True. Well, you know what I mean....

Level 83

Oct 28, 2020

The story of Arachne and Athena is from Ancient Greece, not Rome

Level ∞

Oct 28, 2020

Earliest version was from the Roman poet Ovid:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachne

Level 60

Jun 15, 2021

Would it not be Minerva then? I may be wrong.

Level 75

Mar 4, 2023

Ovid is retelling some Greek legends in this part of the Met., and in this story he refers to "Tritonia", an obscure-ish epithet for Athena. So yeah, it's a Greek legend.

Level 32

Jul 12, 2024

Athena is a Greek goddess. The Romans were obsessed with Greek culture. The ultimate source is Greek.

+10

Level 82

Oct 30, 2020

As an Australian, I always find it kind of hilarious to hear the ancient Egyptians considered the ibis to be sacred. Here we have a name for them: bin chickens.

Level 56

Oct 18, 2021

Yeah. I remember in primary school in Australia, we'd sit down for lunch and a bin chook would just unnervingly stare at us as we were eating. They didn't seem all that sacred then.

Level 91

Nov 2, 2020

A flock of seagulls? A flock of crows? A flock of vultures? A flock of turkeys? A flock of chickens?

Level 80

Nov 9, 2020

Very disappointing that it wasn't a flock of seagulls that let the Romans see the Gauls

Level 79

Dec 23, 2020

Could you accept 'pigeon' for dove?

Level 73

Dec 23, 2020

Bested? Is that even a word?

+10

Level 67

Dec 23, 2020

Absolutely!

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bested

Level 73

Dec 23, 2020

Accept cattle?

Level 73

Aug 23, 2023

Accept cattle?

Level 68

Dec 24, 2020

Would you consider accepting "albatros", with just one S? That is how it is spelled in many languages (including French, German...). It was my first guess, but it didn't occur to me to add an extra "S", especially since alternative spellings are often accepted, even when there's no linguistic reason for it. Many thanks!

Level 65

Dec 24, 2020

Silkworms don't make fabric! They make silk thread. That's like saying sheep make sweaters.

Level 76

Mar 4, 2023

Right. Fiber, not fabric.

Level 66

Dec 24, 2020

"Gull" for Albatross?

Level 60

Oct 20, 2021

Why? Gull is short for Seagull, it's a completely different bird.

Level 60

Dec 25, 2020

Not to be that guy, but it's a fact that dingoes took Azaria Chamberlain, not "probably"

Level 65

Mar 4, 2023

Yeah, poor woman :(

Level 73

Mar 6, 2023

I don't think there is absolute proof, but seem to remember the courts ruling that dingo attack was the most likely cause, so "probably" is correct

Level 93

Mar 19, 2021

my first guess for the australian one, drop bear.

Level 83

Jul 9, 2021

The myth of Arachne is Greek, not Roman. Arachne even means spider in Greek.

Level 60

Oct 20, 2021

Fun fact. People in the Middle ages actually didn't confuse unicorn horn for a narwhal tusk. They knew very well they are from different animals. "Unicornu verum" was a relatively cheap narwhal tusk, "unicornu fossile" was much more expensive and rare, a horn of an actual unicorn.

Another fun fact. Yes, unicorns were actually a real animal. It's scientifical name is "Elasmotherium sibiricum" and it's a type of an ice age rhino. It is not known when it went extinct, there is even a script from an arabian explorer from 921AD that mention it being still alive. Even if you don't believe that, there is no doubt people met it and passed stories and legends about it for generations. And they were also finding it's bones and horns and using them as medicine all throught the Middle ages. The "horse with a narwhal tusk" misconception only came to be in 1558 in a book "Historia animalium" from Conrad Gessner.

Level 78

Mar 4, 2023

This is what happens when you trust clickbait articles for information about unicorns. This entire explanation is way off and makes totally unfounded assertions.

I’m pretty sure your assertion about the prehistoric rhino is entirely lifted from a goodhousekeeping article called “Yes, Unicorns were Real”, and that article certainly doesn’t suggest that the unicorn from Ancient Greek literature is based on this animal. In conclusion, I feel confident saying that these are fun fictions, not fun facts.

Level 56

Mar 8, 2023

regardless of all that umm lol, I just came to reiterate it's a tusk (enamel) & not a horn (keratin)

Level 89

Mar 22, 2022

honk honk

Level 72

Nov 17, 2023

Peace was never an option

Level 73

Mar 4, 2023

"Hoax" is a little strong for the Kluge Hans entry. Hans' owner was giving him clues through his body language, but he did so unknowingly. Maybe call it a "sham" instead.

Level 72

Mar 4, 2023

I tried Silk Moth and bombyx mori, and it didn't work.

If I translate from my native language those are the first entries, and they're definitely correct.

So... could you add either?

Level 66

Mar 4, 2023

Silkworms are the caterpillars of the silk moth, so I tried various caterpillar- and moth-answers, with and without silk. Would be nice to see this reflected in the type-ins.

Level 57

Mar 4, 2023

I did the same. I tried caterpiller, moth, etc. I forgot the name was actually "silkworm."

Level 45

Mar 4, 2023

Silkworm is not an animal

Level 77

Mar 4, 2023

Sure it is. It's the caterpillar of the silk moth.

Level 75

Mar 4, 2023

Woah! I was just normally putting in the answers, had two left, and the time suddenly ran out! Was I dawdling way too much, or is the time short on this one? No one else seems to be complaining :(

Nice quiz, although I expected to have to name famous animals, like Copenhagen, Laika, Dolly... it was much easier this way.

Level 62

Mar 5, 2023

Good quiz idea; quite a few of them are fictional rather than historical, but it's not a big deal.

Level 68

Mar 6, 2023

Just missed Dove

Level 55

Apr 13, 2023

gallic* not gaulic

Level 64

Jun 5, 2023

A dingo didn't "probably" take Azaria, it DID take Azaria. Please get it correct!

Level 52

Aug 25, 2023

Geese are such snitches

Level 64

Jan 28, 2024

I'm surprised there's no mention of the Great Emu War

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