Fun with Quizzes

Are you a Cetacean expert?

Instructions
To pass the test you must answer correctly at least 7 questions out of 10. For each question, one or more answers can be correct and you need to select all the correct options to score a point. Test evaluation is immediate and does not require you to provide any personal data.

1.

Herman Melville's white whale in the novel Moby Dick was actually:

A Great White Shark

A Whale Shark

A Sperm whale

A Blue whale

2.

Some tourists tell you they have seen a mother and calf Gray whale pair in Patagonia:

It could be, but only during the Southern Hemisphere winter

It is impossible, because the Gray whale only inhabits the West coast of South America

It is impossible, because the Gray whale only inhabits the Northern Hemisphere

It is very possible, since the Gray whale is the most sighted cetacean in Patagonia

3.

What is the biggest animal that has ever lived on Earth?

The Sperm whale

The Fin whale

Some dinosaur

The Blue whale

4.

In which place(s) are Orcas known to attack mother and calf Gray whale pairs?

Monterey Bay (CA, United States)

Kaikoura (New Zealand)

Portofino (Italy)

Peninsula Valdes (Argentina)

5.

Talking about evolution, the reason(s) why Cetaceans have almost completely lost their body hair since the time they were land mammals is (are):

Life in the ocean is so psychologically stressful

A fur is not as effective to keep a body warm in the water as it is on land

To increase streamlining

To avoid looking like seals and being hunted

6.

Which of the following assertions about Pilot whales are true?

There are two species, one called short-finned and the other long-finned

Two different species are known, both belonging to the genus Globicephala

Two different species are known, whose distributions rarely overlap

Two different species are known, whose distributions broadly overlap

7.

Which of the following animals are not cetaceans?

Dugong

Manatee

Sperm whale

Beluga

8.

Which of the following species can be sometimes mistaken for Orcas by Whale Watchers?

Risso's dolphin

Gray whale

False killer whale

Beluga

9.

In presence of a stranded cetacean, the following actions should be taken:

Gently try to drag the whale or dolphin back to the water

Immediately call the local authorities and experts

Keep the skin of the animal wet

Carefully try to keep the blowhole (or blowholes) free of sand or other materials

10.

Why is a stranded cetacean in a highly life-threatening condition?

Because it cannot breathe

Because its body design was not conceived by Nature to fully cope with gravity out of the water

Because it cannot efficiently dissipate heat on land (overheating)

Because it quickly gets dehydrated and its skin is also sensitive to the ultraviolet radiations of the sun