Killer Whale Quiz

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What do you know about the top predator in the world’s oceans? Find out through this quiz.

Jumping Killer whales
Two mammal-eating “transient” killer whales photographed off the south side of Unimak Island, eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Credit: Robert Pittman, PD image.




True or False?

1. The killer whale is sometimes called an orca whale or orca.

 True

 False

 

2. The killer whale is not a whale but is actually a dolphin.

 True

 False

 

3. Killer whales can grow as long as a school bus and as heavy as an African elephant.

 True

 False

 

4. Killer whales eat any kind and size of fish, except for sharks.

 True

 False

 

5. Killer whales are solitary marine mammals. They hunt and travel alone.

 True

 False

 

6. Orcas cannot smell.

 True

 False

 

7. Killer whales communicate through whistles, pulsed calls or by slapping their fins.

 True

 False

 

8. Killer whales sleep with one eye open.

 True

 False

 

9. You can only find killer whales in cold waters.

 True

 False

 

10. Orcas are not wild in the wild.

 True

 False




Answer to the Killer Whale Quiz:

1. True. Orcinus orca is the scientific name of the killer whale.
2. True.
3. True. The largest orca caught measured 32 feet (9.8 meters) long and weighed 11 tons (9979 kilograms).
4. False. Killer whales are carnivores. They are actually shark-eaters and even feed on great whites. They also eat rays, sea lions, dugongs, sea turtles and whales.
5. False. They live in groups called pods. A pod can have three to over a hundred members.
6. True. Killer whales lack smelling organs but they have exceptional senses of sight and hearing.
7. True. They have a complex language in which they use sound and touch to send messages.
8. True. They sleep with just half of their brains, so they cannot completely go to sleep.
9. False. Aside from humans, they are the most widely distributed mammals in the world. They can thrive in warm, cold and even in freezing waters.
10. True. Killer whales in the ocean are less likely to attack or to eat humans. Deadly killer whale attacks have been brought on by the stress orcas experience in captivity.

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