Travel the World: Madagascar

Estimated Completion Time
1 min
Travel the World: Madagascar
Image: © 2009 Jupiterimages Corporation

About This Quiz

Because the island Madagascar broke off from the African continent millions of years ago, all kinds of oddball plants and animals call Madagascar -- and only Madagascar -- home. How much do you know about this weird little world?
Madagascar is home to the world's largest and smallest varieties of what animal?
snake
tiger
chameleon
parrot
lizard
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are about 150 species of chameleon, half of which are native to Madagascar. The cat-size Parson's chameleon is the largest, and the stump-tailed chameleon can be less than an inch long.

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Madagascar became a colony of what country in 1897?
England
Portugal
France
Spain
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

France invaded the island in 1883 and eventually colonized it. Madagascar regained independence in 1960.

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What time of year is not a good time to visit Madagascar?
January-March
March-June
June-September
September-December
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You'll probably want to avoid Madagascar during rainy season, from January to March. April, October and November are usually the best months to visit.

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What's the mountainous region of Madagascar called?
Hauts Plateaux
Mesetas Altos
Planaltos Altos
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The central highlands are known as the Hauts Plateaux.

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In the village of Soatanana, everyone wears what color?
yellow
red
blue
white
black
green
orange
purple
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The villagers are part of a Christian sect called Spiritual Revivial. They all wear white as a sign of purity.

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What percentage of the animals on Madagascar live there and nowhere else?
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A full 90 percent of the animals on Madagascar are unique to the island.

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Madagascar produces some of the world's highest-quality _____ beans.
pinto
coffee
vanilla
kidney
fava
cocoa
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Madagascar is the world's largest producer and exporter of vanilla.

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More than 70 species of this animal live only on Madagascar.
wombat
tortoise
yak
lemur
platypus
lynx
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lemurs originally lived on mainland Africa and somehow made it to Madagascar. Predators eventually killed off the mainland lemurs, but they're still going strong on Madagascar.

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The largest bird on Earth lived in Madagascar. What was it called?
rhea
wandering albatross
elephant bird
great bustard
cassowary
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Elephant birds have been extinct since about the 17th century. They're believed to have been more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall and weighed around 880 pounds (400 kilograms).

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What's the official language of Madagascar?
Madagascian
Gascari
Malagasy
Mikean
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Malagasy is the official language and also the name of the native people of Madagascar.

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You Got:
/10
© 2009 Jupiterimages Corporation