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.

Feeding cetaceans in the wild can:

Have a negative impact on their feeding behaviour

Help them survive

Negatively alter their social behaviour and interactions, for example with males harassing females for a longer time, which they should rather spend searching for food

Help genuine friendship between cetaceans and humans

2.

Which of the following assertions are true?

Cetaceans evolved from land mammals

The ancestors of cetaceans always inhabited the sea

Cetaceans evolved from a now extinct warm-blooded fish

Baleen whales (Mysticeti) are believed to have evolved from reptiles

3.

The number of blowholes in Mysticeti is:

Two

One or two, depending on the species

One

Always two, except for the Bowhead whale which has only one

4.

The diet of Mysticeti (toothless whales) includes:

Copepods

Krill

Small fish

Marine mammals

5.

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

6.

The number of blowholes in Odontoceti is:

Two

One or two, depending on the species

One

Always one, except the Sperm whale which has two

7.

Cetaceans, compared to humans, have:

A higher concentration of myoglobin in muscles

A bigger lung volume relative to total body volume

A higher amount of blood in their circulatory system, relative to total body weight

More efficient biochemical pathways, which enhance their tolerance towards lactic acid

8.

Some river dolphins are:

Able to crawl for more than a mile on land

Almost completely blind

In great danger of extinction

Well adapted to feed on birds

9.

The Gray whale was nicknamed Devilfish by whalers because:

Gray whales are naturally extremely aggressive

A Gray whale mother can become particularly aggressive if someone is harming her baby

They thought the evil would eventually get them for their practices

They regularly mistook Gray whales for Marlins

10.

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)