Animals · Puzzle #29 · Wednesday, October 28

Animals: the board

Eight items, eight categories, one place each. Here is the board with every figure and where it comes from, and the best way to place them. Play today's Animals.

The categories

• Late bloomer: 1 pt per year to grow up
• Big family: 1 pt per doubling over 1 baby at a time
• Known worldwide: 1 pt per 15 Wikipedia languages
• Top speed: 1 pt per 5 mph
• Long life: 1 pt per 7 years
• Heavyweight: 1 pt per doubling over 1 lb
• Long wait: 1 pt per 25 days' pregnancy or incubation
• Most looked-up: 1 pt per 100,000 Wikipedia views in 2025

The best board

The best board is hidden while some of these items are still in play: they're on a board again within 14 days.

The lineup, figure by figure

1. Impala

   Antelope that leaps to throw off predators

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

2. Leopard

   Big cat that hauls its prey up into trees

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

3. Gharial

   Crocodilian with a needle-thin snout

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

4. Gray wolf

   Wild ancestor of the dog, famous for howling

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

5. North American porcupine

   Rodent covered in some 30,000 sharp quills

   

   North American porcupine's best fit on this board was Long wait, worth 8.4: its young take 210 days to be born or hatch. Its weakest was Big family, worth 0.0, since it has 1 young at a time.

   Late bloomer

   females can first breed at 3 years old (3.0) Source: Wikipedia

   Big family

   has 1 young at a time (0.0) Source: AnAge

   Known worldwide

   Wikipedia has an article on it in 41 languages (2.7) Source: Wikipedia language editions (Wikidata)

   Top speed

   tops out at 2 mph (0.4) Source: Wikipedia

   Long life

   the oldest on record lived 23 years (3.3) Source: AnAge

   Heavyweight

   a typical adult weighs 19 lb (4.2) Source: AnAge

   Long wait

   its young take 210 days to be born or hatch (8.4) Source: AnAge

   Most looked-up

   its Wikipedia article was read 466,275 times in 2025 (4.7) Source: Wikimedia page views

6. Cane toad

   Warty toad that eats almost anything

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

7. Sperm whale

   Square-headed whale that hunts squid

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

8. Plains zebra

   Wild horse no two of which look alike

   

   Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

All of puzzle #29 · The archive