Celebrity Cetaceans Trivia Quiz

Answer: Keiko

Keiko played Willy in many of the scenes in this movie while at Reino Aventura park in Mexico City. The end credits of the movie displayed a phone number; this was part of a plan by Warner Brothers and the International Marine Mammal Project to release Keiko into the wild. Donations totalled over $7 million to build a place to nurse him back to health and teach him necessary skills.

In September 1988, he was flown back to Iceland and placed in a sea pen, where he could be monitored by scientists as he trained to return.

He was fully free in July 2002, and died in December 2003.

Answer: Gray whales

The whales were given both English and Inupiaq names; Putu (Bonnet), Siku (Crossbeak) and Kanik (Bone). The youngest whale, Kanik, who was nine months old, died during the operation. The other whales were in ill health when they disappeared, and it is unknown whether they survived, as they weren't tracked after the operation.

Answer: The unusually high frequency of its song.

Known as the 52 Hertz whale, or Blue 52, this whale was recorded in the Pacific Ocean, from the California coast to the Aleutian and Kodiak Islands, vocalising at the unusually high frequency of 52 Hertz. Blue whales usually vocalise at 10-32 Hz, and fin whales at 20 Hz.

In 2004, the calls deepened slightly to 50 Hz as the whale matured. There are several theories as to why the whale sings at this frequency, though none have been confirmed. Some scientists say it could be malformed, or possibly deaf.

It is also possible that it is a blue whale-fin whale hybrid, as it shares some migration and vocalisation characteristics with these two species.

Answer: He is albino.

Migaloo is a true albino, meaning he is completely white, with no pigment anywhere. The name Migaloo, in some local Aboriginal languages, translates to "whitefella". There have been several white humpbacks sighted around the world, though Migaloo is possibly the most famous, with his own website where people can record white whale sightings.

Answer: Northern bottlenose whale

The whale, nicknamed "Willy", was a female northern bottlenose whale who swam up the River Thames. There were several reported sightings before marine mammal rescue teams attempted to find and monitor her. They decided to rescue her, as she was far from her natural habitat.

At low tide, she was intentionally beached and loaded onto a barge. Unfortunately, she began to be crushed by her own weight, and experienced convulsions. The decision was made by the team's vet to euthanise her, though she died of dehydration shortly before the euthanasia was administered.

Answer: True

She was captured in 1970 from Peddar Bay. Most members of her pod seemed to be unusual in some way. The orca suspected to be Chimo's mother was named Scarredjaw Cow for the large scar on her chin. The other pod members were Pointednose Cow, who had a long, pointy snout, and Charlie Chin, who had a prominent underbite. Chimo's albinism relusted from a genetic condition called Chediak-Higashi syndrome. 2.5 years after her capture, she died from complications of her disease.

Answer: Russian spy

When he was first sighted, he was wearing a camera harness. After this was removed, he stayed in the area and appeared used to humans, leading people to believe he was a Russian spy. He was very friendly, and enjoyed retrieving things from the water, such as retrieving and returning a phone someone dropped and playing fetch with a rugby ball.

He was fed by scientists, as he seemed unable to catch his own food. He later died of a bacterial infection from a stick that became lodged in his mouth and cut him.

Answer: Tail

Winter was found in December 2005, entangled in a crab line, which cut off circulation to her tail. Her tail had to be removed, and a custom prosthetic was made for her. The 2009 book Winter's Tale was based of her life, as well as the 2011 film Dolphin Tale and its sequel in 2014.

Answer: Baiji

The baiji, or Yangtze river dolphin, was declared functionally extinct in 2006 after and extensive six-week search of the Chinese river produced no sightings. Qi Qi was one of six captive baijis held in captivity from 1980-2002. He was the longest surviving by far; he lived for 22.5 years in captivity, while the lifespans of the other baijis were 2.5 years, 228 days, 129 days, 76 days and 17 days. He was found by fisherman in 1980 with hooks stuck in him.

The other names are all dolphin species themselves. The boto is the Amazon river dolphin, the largest of the river dolphins. The franciscana, also known as the La Plata dolphin, is in the river dolphin family but lives in mainly coastal waters. The tucuxi (pronounced too-koo-shee), is not in the river dolphin family but lives mainly in rivers.

Answer: He was involved in the deaths of 3 humans

Tilikum was involved in the death of trainer Keltie Lee Byrne at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, after she slipped into a pool with Tilikum and two other orcas, who drowned her. Once at SeaWorld, he was involved in a second death where a man named Daniel Dukes snuck into his tank after hours and was found dead and with bite marks the next morning; it isn't known whether he drowned and received his injuries after death or if Tilikum killed him.

The final death is the most well-known; he grabbed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a live Dine with Shamu show and drowned her.