10-Question Quiz: City Critters

Raccoon in trash
( Steve from washington, dc, usa / Wikimedia Commons )

[MUSIC]

Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Second to last day of our May membership drive. Hooray. Again, this drive, we're doing a 10-question quiz each day at around this time during the eleven o'clock hour. Get two in a row right. Today, you'll win either a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap or a babka from Russ & Daughters. Yes, the babka that we're giving away through noon today as a thank-you gift in the drive. Today's quiz is about the critters you might encounter around here. Wild, feral, or theoretically domesticated, and here we go. Stephanie in Crown Heights, you're on WNYC. Hi, Stephanie. Ready to play?

Stephanie: Good morning.

Brian Lehrer: Okay.

Stephanie: Yes, hope so.

Brian Lehrer: Here we go.

Stephanie: I'll do my best.

Brian Lehrer: Question one, what flying creatures get a bad rap and are often referred to as rats with wings?

Stephanie: Pigeons.

Brian Lehrer: Pigeons is right. Number two, speaking of rats, are there more rats or more people in New York City? More rats than people or more people than rats?

Stephanie: More rats.

Brian Lehrer: Sorry. A 2023 study estimates, there are three million rats in New York, so just over a third of the number of people. It's probably a little reassuring, except for you because you didn't win the prize. A little reassuring to know, there are still more people than rats by almost a 3:1 margin in New York City. Stephanie, thanks for playing. Bill in Princeton is up next. Hi, Bill. Ready to play?

Bill: Yes, Brian, thanks.

Brian Lehrer: Question number three in this 10-question quiz. While we hope that mutts rescued from the pound are actually the top pick of New Yorkers looking for a canine companion, we hope it's the rescue dogs. The American Kennel Club tracks the most popular dog breeds by city in real life. Can you name one, just one of the breeds on their list of the top five for New York City?

Bill: No, but I'm going to guess huskies.

Brian Lehrer: Not huskies. Thanks for trying, Bill. Here are the top five breeds in New York City, according to the American Kennel Club. French Bulldog, Poodle, Golden Retriever, Bulldog, and Labrador Retriever. They even track the most popular breeds by neighborhood. You might not be surprised to learn that Tribeca in the Upper East Side share an affinity for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. While folks in New Dorp on Staten Island and the Upper West Side love their Labrador Retrievers. Let's go next to Cynthia in the West Village. Hi, Cynthia. Ready to play?

Cynthia: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Question number four, which creature often found in parks looks like an old-timey burglar might dig through trash cans for its food but will often wash it off before eating it?

Cynthia: Squirrel?

Brian Lehrer: I'll go back to the clue that's in the question. They look like an old-timey burglar, or at least how one might be portrayed in a movie or a cartoon.

Cynthia: Skunks?

Brian Lehrer: Oh, that's actually a good guess with that clue, but the answer is actually raccoons. Raccoons. New York City Parks says, "Raccoons are often seen rubbing their food and even dousing it in streams or ponds. Water helps soften the tough skin on a raccoon's palms, allowing it to better feel what it's about to eat." I'll just add that as cute as they might be with their little masks, they can carry rabies and canine distemper. The city recommends keeping your distance from raccoons. Let's go next to Omar in Bed-Stuy. Hi, Omar. Ready to play?

Omar: Oh, yes, Brian. What's going on?

Brian Lehrer: Here's what's going on. Let's talk a couple of endangered or at-risk species found in the New York City area. We've talked about these on the show. This creature has a very complicated life cycle. They are born in the Sargasso Sea, which is salt water, then travel to the east coast thousands of miles away, where they live 20 to 30 years in fresh water, then back to the Sargasso Sea to breed and die. This is probably the hardest question in the quiz. Any idea what creature that is?

Omar: Ooh. Man.

Brian Lehrer: One version of these-- Go ahead. Did you want to guess?

Omar: No, no, please.

Brian Lehrer: People sometimes say they're electric.

Omar: Oh, I'm going to guess. Eels?

Brian Lehrer: Eels is right. According to the New York City Parks Department, due to overfishing and habitat loss, particularly caused by barriers like dams that prevent the eels from reaching freshwater habitat, American eel populations are dramatically reduced. That's one threatened species. One more, not to cross paths with if you can help it, what's the name of the shorebird that nests on the beach, including the Rockaways, where one mile of beach is a dedicated protected area, and people and their dogs are asked to keep their distance? We have a recording of this bird that's been much talked about. The sound might be a hint to their name.

[sound recording of a bird]

Brian Lehrer: Any idea about the bird that was piping up there?

Omar: Is it a piping plover?

[fanfare sound]

Brian Lehrer: It is a piping plover. Did you need me to say "piping up" or would you have gotten it anyway? [chuckles]

Omar: I'd like to think I would have gotten it anyway, but it would have helped.

Brian Lehrer: That's good, Omar. All right. Would you like a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap or the Russ & Daughters babka?

Omar: I think I'd like the cap, please, and thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Baseball cap coming your way. We'll take your address off the air. David in Brooklyn, ready to play?

David: Yes, I am.

Brian Lehrer: Question number seven. Here's a creature that's not at all endangered. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control calls it the world's deadliest animal. Animal is not probably the first way you think of it. It's tiny but mighty in its way. What might this world's deadliest animal, according to the CDC, be for all the diseases it carries?

David: Mosquito?

Brian Lehrer: Mosquito is right. Orkin lists diseases they transmit. For example of a list, chikungunya, dengue, encephalitis, malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika virus. You have a mosquito. CDC says world's deadliest animal. Question number eight, statues of animals are found throughout the city. Which of the following is not in Central Park? One of these three is not. A Siberian husky named Balto, a charging bull, or a dancing bear. Two of those are. One is not found in Central Park. It's found elsewhere in Manhattan. Siberian husky--

David: Dancing bear.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, I'm sorry, David. It was the charging bull. Charging bull is found on Broadway just north of Bowling Green. It's that Wall Street symbol in the financial district. Balto is in the park near East 67th Street. The dancing bear named Honey Bear is found outside the northern entrance to the Central Park Zoo. How about Joel in Manhattan? Hi, Joel. Ready to play?

Joel: I am.

Brian Lehrer: Question number nine in this 10-question quiz. We love our celebrity birds and we still mourn Flaco, who died a year ago, February, and has a current exhibition at New York Historical. What kind of bird was Flaco?

Joel: An owl.

Brian Lehrer: An owl. A Eurasian eagle owl, to be specific, escaped from the Central Park Zoo in February 2023 and lived for a year in the city before dying from a collision, weakened by having ingested rat poison along with his prey. Question number 10 for the hat or the babka. The latest celebrity bird is named Astoria. She was last sighted as of Monday in Battery Park, having made her way from Roosevelt Island, where she had lived for several months before heading for the East 50s. What kind of bird is Astoria if you know without a clue?

Joel: It's a guess. I'd say a hawk.

Brian Lehrer: A hawk is wrong. I will give you a clue. Generally, these kinds of birds might feel endangered close to Thanksgiving.

Joel: Turkey. A wild turkey.

[fanfare sound]

Brian Lehrer: A wild turkey is exactly right. I did need you to say "wild" there, and you did. According to New York City's wildlife site, wild turkeys were probably in this area before humans showed up. Joel, would you like a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap or a Russ & Daughters babka?

Joel: A hat. I like cinnamon babka rather than chocolate.

Brian Lehrer: Maybe we can put in a special request, but I can't guarantee it.

Joel: No, no, I'll take the hat.

Brian Lehrer: We're going to send you a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Joel, hang on. We'll take your address off the air. That's our 10-question quiz for today. We'll do one more for the last day of the drive tomorrow. Brian Lehrer on WNYC.

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