, 20 July 2023
These warm-blooded, birth-giving, milk-making mammals make their living out at sea. Sea if you can score a dive out of five… while we won’t hold our breath, the marine mammals will!
Incredibly, blue whales evolved from land animals. Their closest living land animal relatives are hippopotamuses.
True. Orcas are part of the Delphinidae family, also known as the oceanic dolphins. This family includes the bottlenose dolphins. Orcas are the largest member of the family, weighing 10 metric tons.
In the wild, orcas don’t usually attack humans and in some instances have been known to protect human divers from other threats. Recently, a small group of orcas have been attacking sailing ships off the coast of Spain. Experts think that one orca got hurt by a boat and has been teaching other orcas to attack boat rudders.
Unlike fish, marine mammals move up and down when they swim. That’s why their tails and rear flippers are sideways, while fish tails go up and down.
Even though people stopped hunting blue whales more than 40 years ago, their populations are still recovering. 10,000 whales might sound like a lot, but humans killed over 350,000 blue whales in the early 20th century.
Congratulations! You are a real science whiz!
Oh dear! Better brush up before the next quiz!
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21 July, 2023 at 4:42 pm
We love your quizes, but your answer to question 2 is incorrect!
Yes, Orcas are dolphins, but dolphins are whales too.
So, Orcas actually ARE classified as whales.
It’s like asking if a goanna is a reptile or a lizard – it’s both!.
24 July, 2023 at 11:17 am
Ooh! Good point!
The original question is whether orcas are whales.
I’d feel a bit bad saying that they are whales, but as you say, they technically are.
We’re changing the question to be less tricky.