The Ultimate Whale Quiz

There are many kinds of whales, ranging in size from a 5-foot (1.5-m) harbor dolphin to a blue whale, which may reach a length of more than 100 feet (30 m). Whales are found in all seas as well as many coastal waters and the largest whales may weigh up to 140 tons.

Whales swim with their powerful tail, which ends in a pair of horizontal flukes that bend as the tail moves up and down. The tail and flukes drive this animal through the water at great speeds that are especially surprising for a whale’s huge size.

A whale has a head, body and tail, but because of its sleek form it's hard to tell where one part ends and the next begins. The tail of a whale accounts for one third of its body length.

Fossils have been found of whale-like creatures with tiny legs that could not support their weight and modern whales still have vestigial hind legs buried in their flesh. Some studies conclude that whales were once four-legged animals with hooves.

Echolocation is the process where a whale emits a series of clicks from its mouth or from organs in its head, the sound waves radiate out in the water. When the sound waves reach another animal or some obstacle, they bounce off and travel back to a whales ears, the whale calculates the time this takes to find the distance and direction of a target.

Whales sometimes slap the water with their tails and it produces a tremendous splash. This stunt is called lobtailing and experts make guesses that they do it for mating purposes, communication, a warning or just plain fun. No one really knows for sure.

To breathe in air a whale will surface, flex a muscle to open its blowhole at the top of its head and then inhale. When the whale relaxes muscle, the blowhole closes so it can submerge again and this all happens very quickly.

Whales have lungs and breathe air -- just like other mammals -- but their windpipes are not connected to their mouths.

The spout that we see is caused by exhaled air that is warmer than the surrounding air at the water's surface. As it shoots out the ejected air rapidly cools and the water vapor in the exhaled air immediately condenses into a liquid, giving the appearance that it is water spraying.

Since each species of whale has a uniquely shaped blowhole, they also have a distinctive spout shape. Experienced whale-watchers can use the spout shape to identify any particular species without any other clues.

Scientists divide whales into two groups. There are baleen whales and toothed whales.

A baleen is a wide plate in a whale's mouth formed with hundreds of long blades made from the same material as our fingernails, called keratin. The blades are up to seven feet long and form a sieve that the whale uses to filter small animals such as krill, plankton or small fish from seawater.

Whales get their water from the food they eat, just like all marine mammals. Whales cannot drink salt water, as it causes dehydration in tissue.

Whales actually drink the water they need from their stored up blubber when food is not plentiful enough to provide their hydration needs. A thin whale not only risks starvation but also could die from thirst.

Gray whales migrate all the way from the Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Arctic to southern California. It is the longest migration of any mammal, with a round-trip distance of some 10,000 miles (16,000 km).

The name sulfur bottom comes from the fact that the underside of the blue whale commonly becomes coated with yellowish microscopic algae. Blue whales swim at a top speed of about 30 mph (48 kph) but they still cannot shake off that algae or the name.

During the summer feeding season, a blue whale may devour over 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of krill a day.

Blue whales and other baleen whales have good eyesight, but unlike humans the baleen whales have eyes that are flattened in the front. This eye shape is better for seeing in a dim, underwater habitat. Toothed whales do not see well at all.

Killer whales or orcas are simply huge dolphins and usually act like dolphins, showing affection to humans and even saving humans from shark attacks. Like any dolphin, killer whales will become agitated and annoyed if humans overdo playful roughhousing and can give you a nasty time.

A mother blue whale may lose as much as 100,000 pounds (45,400 kilograms), or a third of her body weight, while nursing. Baby blue whales consume up to 50 gallons (189 L) of milk every day and grow by as much as 10 pounds (4.54 kg) every hour.