Born in the Wild: Whale Trivia Quiz

Answer: seven metres

At birth, blue whale calves measure seven metres long and weigh three tonnes. They will eventually grow to a length of thirty metres and weigh more than two hundred tonnes.

Answer: False

Whales are mammals. They give birth to live young, which emerge tail-first to avoid drowning.

Answer: males

Much like elephants, female sperm whales and their calves live in small family groups while mature males live alone.

Answer: grey

Beluga whales are easily recognised by their colouration. Calves are born grey, however, by the time they reach adulthood, the colouration changes to pure white.

Answer: True

The male Blue whale has the longest penis of any known animal.

Answer: nine years

Pregnancy lasts between fourteen and sixteen months and the birth is a social event, with other members of the pod gathering to protect the mother and newborn calf from predators.

Answer: True

That's a LOT of milk! The milk contains important nutrients and, by drinking such large amounts, the calf increases its weight by up to 90 kilograms per day.

Answer: they do all of these things

Males fight each other for the attention of receptive females. Among other behaviours, they will slap the water with their tails and sing loud, complex songs.

Since whales don't have vocal cords, the songs are produced by forcing air through their nasal cavities. At 230 decibels, the loudest songs are those of sperm whales.

Answer: winter

Humpback whales spend most of their time in cold Arctic or Antarctic waters. However, when winter comes and it's time for them to breed, they migrate to warmer waters where the females will give birth. Mating usually occurs during the migration.

Answer: one year

After a year, the calf's teeth will start to appear, and their diet will begin to include fish and shrimp.