Quiz
Take the quiz to test your knowledge of whales, their adaptations and the issues they face. There are 5 questions for each whale and 5 general questions.
Questions on whales
1. Who am I? I am a family of whales with both baleen and ventral grooves.
A. Baleen whales. B. Mysticetes. C. Rorquals. D. Right whales.
C. Rorquals. The rorqual family is part of the baleen whale group (also called mysticetes). Right whales are also part of the baleen whale group, but they are not rorquals because they lack ventral grooves.
2. Which of the following options correctly lists these eight whales from smallest to largest?
A. Minke whale, harbour porpoise, beluga, humpback whale, right whale, fin whale, sperm whale, blue whale. B. Harbour porpoise, minke whale, beluga, humpback, fin whale, right whale, blue whale, sperm whale. C. Harbour porpoise, beluga, minke whale, sperm whale, humpback whale, right whale, fin whale, blue whale.
C. Harbour porpoise (1.3 to 2 m), beluga (2.5 to 4.5 m), minke whale (6 to 9 m), sperm whale (11 to 15 m), humpback whale (13 to 17 m) ), right whale (13 to 17 m), fin whale (18 to 20 m), blue whale (21 to 28 m).
3. If a whale carcass is analyzed, the cause of its death can easily be identified.
A. True. B. False.
B. False. Even if a necropsy (the equivalent of an autopsy for humans) is performed on the whale, there is no guarantee that the cause of death will be found. However, some causes may be easier to identify than others. For example, if the whale shows recent and severe injuries caused by a collision.
4. Which of the following statements about whales is incorrect?
A. They breathe on the surface. B. They must maintain their body temperature at 37°C. C. They expel excess salt water through their blowhole. D. They nurse their young.
C. They expel excess salt water through their blowhole. Whales use their blowholes for breathing. Even if we see water in their spouts, this is due to the water vapour in the air in their lungs that condenses.
5. Only people who live near the marine environment have an impact on whales.
A. True. B. False.
B. False. The waste and pollution we produce can travel great distances and many of the products we buy may also have been shipped through whale habitat. Consuming responsibly can have a positive impact on whales and their habitat, even if we are not right next door.
Questions on the Beluga whale
1. At what age do belugas turn white?
A. Belugas are white from birth. B. Around 3 years of age. C. Between the ages of 14 and 16.
C. Between the ages of 14 and 16.
2. The first call a baby beluga learns to stay in touch with its mother is:
A. Contact call. B. Echolocation. C. Whistling.
A. Contact call. Belugas also use echolocation, but this helps them to find their way around, not to communicate. As the beluga calf grows older, it will learn to make a greater variety of sounds, some of which sound like whistles, but these will come after the contact call.
3. Whales like the beluga use their vocal cords to produce sounds.
A. True. B. False.
B. False. Toothed whales like belugas produce sounds from their phonic lips. Although they resemble vocal cords, phonic lips are located in the whales’ nasal passages, just below the blowhole.
4. What part of its body does a whale use to capture sounds?
A. Small ear holes on either side of the head. B. Its lower jaw. C. Its blowhole.
B. Its lower jaw. The sound is then carried to the middle and inner ear through the acoustic window, a fatty sound reception pathway located inside the jaw bone.
5. In cetaceans, only toothed whales (odontocetes) use echolocation.
A. True. B. False.
A. True. Baleen whales (mysticetes) do not.
Questions on the Fin whale
1. Which of the following characteristics is used to distinguish individual fin whales from one another?
A. The colour pattern on the underside of their tail. B. The shape of their dorsal fin. C. Their scars. D. The colour pattern of their flank, or “chevron”.
B., C. and D. Fin whales are not known to show their tail when they dive. Identifying individuals by the pattern under their tail is used for humpback whales. In fin whales, the distinctive colour pattern is known as the chevron, which consists of lighter-coloured bands behind the blowhole.
2. Which of these fin whale facts is false?
A. The fin whale is nicknamed the “greyhound of the sea”. B. The fin whale is a true acrobat and often breaches. C. The fin whale has asymmetrical colouring. D. The fin whale is the 2nd largest animal on the planet.
B. It is rare to see a fin whale hurl itself out of the water. Fin whales are best known for their speed, hence the nickname “greyhound of the sea”.
3. How deep do whales dive?
A. 40 m B. 100 to 200 m C. 500 to 800 m D. It depends on the species.
D. It depends on the species. A fin whale generally dives to depths of 100 to 200 m, while a sperm whale will generally go down to between 500 and 800 m, and may even go as deep as 2,000 m or more.
4. A whale must also be careful not to come back up too quickly from its dive, otherwise it could suffer what is known as decompression sickness.
A. True. B. False.
A. True.
5. Simply reducing a ship’s speed lowers the chances of a collision with a whale.
A. True. B. False.
A. True. Furthermore, should an incident occur, the animal’s chances of survival will be greatly improved if the vessel is moving at a speed of less than 10 knots.
Questions on the Minke whale
1. Nearly all of the minke whales that visit the St. Lawrence are females.
A. True B. False
A. True. The St. Lawrence is a feeding ground used mainly by females, while males migrate farther north toward the Arctic.
2. How long does gestation last in whales?
A. 9 months, like humans. B. Between 10 and 18 months, depending on the species. C. 22 months, like elephants.
B. Between 10 and 18 months, depending on the species.
3. Calves are not fully developed at birth and the mother must help them swim.
A. True B. False
B. False. Although the mother may help her calf take its first breath at the surface and occasionally support it as it swims, the calf needs to be able to swim on its own from the moment it is born.
4. Which sentence best describes nursing whales?
A. The calf latches onto its mother’s nipple and suckles the milk. B. The calf latches onto its mother’s nipple and the mother injects the milk into its mouth. C. The mother sprays a ball of milk into the water, which the calf then swallows. D. Whales do not nurse their young.
B. The calf latches onto its mother’s nipple and the mother injects the milk into its mouth. Whales lack the muscles in their mouths they would need to suckle, so it is the mother who must expel the milk.
5. Animals that are higher up on the food chain like whales are more likely to accumulate large amounts of contaminants.
A. True B. False
A. True. This phenomenon is known as biomagnification.
Questions on the Humpback whale
1. Which of the following characteristics does not describe the humpback whale?
A. A unique colour pattern on the underside of each individual’s tail. B. Callosities on the front of the head. C. The longest pectoral fins. D. A hump just in front of the dorsal fin.
B. Callosities on the front of the head. This trait belongs to the right whale.
2. During the breeding season in the southern seas, male humpbacks improvise a new song every year.
A. True B. False
B. False. They initially sing the same song as the previous season, but gradually make changes to it.
3. Which of the following elements allows whales to retain their body heat?
A. A thick layer of blubber. B. A dense coat of fur. C. Circulating less blood to the skin surface. D. A heat exchange system between the arteries that carry blood to the skin surface and the veins that carry it back toward the body’s insides.
A., C. and D.
4. How does a whale dissipate heat if it gets too warm?
A. By perspiring profusely. B. By breaching in order to catch a breeze. C. By letting more blood reach its extremities and the surface of its skin.
C. By letting more blood reach its extremities and the surface of its skin. Typically, whales circulate less blood to their skin surface in order to retain heat, but if they are warm, they do the opposite. Whales don’t perspire: they’re already in water, so there’s no need to wet their skin any more!
5. Humpback whales were once heavily hunted, but the North Atlantic population is now recovering.
A. True B. False
A. True. Now that’s great news!
Questions on the Blue whale
1. The distribution of blue whales is quite extensive in the North Atlantic. They spend the summer foraging in cold waters like the St. Lawrence and congregate in the warm Caribbean in winter.
A. True B. False
B. False. Although it is true that blue whales are rather widely distributed in the North Atlantic and that they spend their summers in cold waters such as those of the St. Lawrence, where exactly they go in winter remains unknown. There is no specific gathering place equivalent to what is observed in the Caribbean for humpbacks.
2. When a blue whale feeds, it opens its mouth, its ventral grooves expand, and its mouth swells with water and food. The whale closes its still bulging mouth and then...
A. It swallows an enormous mouthful of food and water. B. It expels the water through its blowhole and then swallows the food. C. It forces the water through its baleen and out a small gap between its lips, and then swallows the food.
C. It forces the water through its baleen and out a small gap between its lips, and then swallows the food. Note: A whale does not spew water out its blowhole; the water we see is due to the condensation of its exhalation.
3. Whales such as the blue whale can digest the shells of crustaceans thanks to:
A. Powerful acids secreted by their stomachs. B. Bacteria in their intestinal flora. C. Actually, whales are unable to digest the shells of crustaceans.
B. Bacteria in their intestinal flora.
4. Even a whale as big as a blue whale would be unable to swallow a human.
A. True B. False
A. True. Its esophagus, which connects the mouth to the stomach, is too small for a human to pass through.
5. Only motor boats are obligated to comply with regulatory distances from whales.
A. True B. False
B. False. All boats must maintain a certain distance from whales. Even divers and swimmers are required to comply with these regulations.
Questions on the Right whale
1. The right whales that visit the St. Lawrence represent the last remaining population of the species.
A. True B. False
A. True. There is only one population of North Atlantic right whales in the world. In 2021, this population was estimated to number 366 individuals.
2. Which of the following characteristics are used to recognize the right whale?
A. A V-shaped spout. B. Callosities on the front of the head. C. A hump just in front of the dorsal fin. D. Its black skin.
A., B. and D. Right whales have no dorsal fin. A hump just in front of the dorsal fin is a characteristic of the humpback whale.
3. Breathing is not a reflex in whales; these animals have to think to breathe.
A. True B. False
A. True. Unlike humans, whales breath in a conscious manner.
4. When a whale gets ready to dive, where does it keep its biggest oxygen reserve?
A. In its lungs. B. In its blood. C. In its muscles.
C. In its muscles. Whales use their muscles to stock up on oxygen thanks to an abundant molecule called myoglobin.
5. Whales often get themselves ensnared in fishing rope, but it is easy to get them untangled.
A. True B. False
B. False. As Piper’s story shows, disentanglement operations can fail and such interventions require the expertise of specialized teams.
Questions on the Habour porpoise
1. A female harbour porpoise can carry a fetus even if she is still nursing another calf, a rare phenomenon in cetaceans.
A. True B. False
A. True. Pregnancy and nursing are very energy intensive, so female porpoises are like super moms!
2. Which of the following affirmations about a whale skeleton is incorrect?
A. The pectoral fins have several phalanges. B. Two small bones floating below the spine toward the rear of the skeleton are remnants of hind legs. C. The caudal fin consists of a large, long and flat bone.
C. The caudal fin consists of a large, long and flat bone. There are no bones in the wide, flat part at the end of the tail; this part consists only of cartilage and other soft tissues.
3. Which of these animals is considered to be the ancestor of whales?
A. The megalodon, a giant shark. B. Plesiosaurus, an aquatic reptile. C. Pakicetus, a four-legged mammal. D. We don’t know; it’s a mystery.
C. Pakicetus, a four-legged mammal.
4. Modern whales are split into two broad groups. What are they?
A. Odontocetes (toothed whales) and mysticetes (baleen whales). B. Delphinidae (dolphins) and Balaenopteridae (rorquals). C. Mysticetes (baleen whales) and Balaenopteridae (rorquals).
A. Odontocetes (toothed whales) and mysticetes (baleen whales). Delphinidae is a family within the toothed whale group and Balaenopteridae is a family in the baleen whale group.
5. On a wide open water surface, it is easy to track whales and document their behaviour.
A. True B. False
B. False. Spending over 90% of their time under water, whales easily escape our sight, so it’s no easy task to monitor them and document their behaviour.
Questions on the Sperm whale
1. The sperm whale can be recognized by its enormous squarish head. What gives its head this particular shape?
A. The sperm whale’s brain at the front of its head. B. The spermaceti organ, which allows the sperm whale to produce the most powerful sounds in the entire animal kingdom! C. The sperm whale’s huge nose, which helps the animal breathe better.
B. The spermaceti organ, which allows the sperm whale to produce the most powerful sounds in the entire animal kingdom!
2. What is the main prey of whales?
A. Krill. B. Fish. C. Squid. D. It depends on the species.
D. It depends on the species. Sperm whales, for example, eat mainly squid. Blue whales are krill specialists, while fin whales feed on both krill and fish.
3. Whales must chew their food well to ensure that it will be properly digested.
A. True. B. False.
B. False. Whales do not chew their food. Instead, the first part of their multi-chamber stomach, the rumen, has a thick, muscular wall that helps them grind down their food.
4. Whales help fight climate change due to the fact that they...
A. Breathe at the surface B. Defecate at the surface. C. Eat phytoplankton.
B. Defecate at the surface. Indeed, whales’ excrement thus serves as a fertilizer for phytoplankton, which grows on the surface. In turn, phytopankton capture atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis. Whales do not eat phytoplankton.
5. The only thing that can be done to help reduce the amount of garbage in the oceans is to collect it.
A. True. B. False.
B. False. Although it is important to clean up waste that is already present, it is also essential that we strive to prevent new trash from ending up in the oceans in the first place, for example by promoting the use of reusable containers instead of their disposable alternatives.
