I Fight Dolphins! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Echolocation

The melon is found in all whales, dolphins and porpoises. This fatty organ is used for echolocation. The organ varies in size, shape and location in the head in different species. Echolocation is type of natural sonar that dolphins use for navigation and hunting.

Answer: A dolphin's flipper has five digits and nearly the same bone structure of the human arm and hand.

If you look at a photo of a dolphin embryo, you will see that their flippers look remarkably like the limbs of a human embryo. They have four limbs with five digits on each. This is because, at one time, they were quadrupedal land animals which evolved back into aquatic animals. All dolphins are believed to have evolved from the land mammal mesonychidae which looked something like a cross between a dog and a large weasel.

Answer: They are pink

The Amazon river dolphin is a freshwater dolphin that comes in various shades of pink, from grayish-pink all the way to bright pink. These endangered dolphins are found in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers of South America and feed on catfish, piranha, turtles, crabs and shrimp.

The country of Bolivia has declared this beautiful animal to be a national treasure. In Amazon River folklore the boto, as it is known locally, is believed to be a shape-shifter that leaves the water at night and turns into a handsome young man.

He is thought to mate with human women before returning to the river in the morning.

Answer: How to hunt mines

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program trained dolphins to locate mines which are always a major hazard. Dolphins were still being used for this purpose in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War (2003-2011). Dolphins have also been trained as sentries that protected harbor installations against enemy divers and swimmers.

The dolphin was trained to bump a device onto the air tank or back of the swimmer/diver. The device is attached to a buoy that then floats to the surface alerting Navy personnel that there is an unauthorized intruder.

In spite of complaints by animal welfare groups, there is no doubt that countless human lives have been saved by these amazing animals.

Answer: Dolphins are carnivores that use many tactics when hunting.

Dolphins are carnivores that use many tactics when hunting. Dolphins are carnivores that eat mainly squid, and fish. They often hunt herring, mackerel, and blue fish. These creative hunters have been observed jumping out of the water and catching flying fish by jumping out of the water and stunning the fish with a powerful head butt.

They have also been seen chasing schools of fish onto the shore and climbing out to catch and eat the fish. Dolphins can also dive hundreds of feet in order to catch prey.

They will hunt collectively and individually. Dolphins eat about 25 pounds of prey a day by grabbing their prey with their jaws and swallowing it whole.

Answer: Only one half of their brain sleeps at a time.

Dolphins cannot go into a full deep sleep like land mammals because they would suffocate/drown. They solve this problem by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. They sleep approximately eight hours a day in this manner. While sleeping they have been observed to swim slowly in shallow water rising to the surface occasionally to breath.

Others have been observed resting at the surface with their blowhole exposed. These behaviors differ depending on circumstances and even possibly upon individual preferences.

Answer: Blowhole

Dolphins make many types of noises, including squeaks, whistles, and clicks. They are all made with their blowhole, located on the top of the head. The blowhole is also used to breathe and damage to a dolphin's blowhole can cause death. They do not use their mouths to make sound.

Answer: They covered their snouts with a sponge to protect it while foraging.

Off the coast of Australia in 2005, scientists observed mother bottlenose dolphins teaching their offspring to use a sea sponge over their nose to protect it while foraging for food. This knowledge appeared to be passed from mothers to daughters. The use of sponges for protection is a learned behavior that exhibits the dolphins ability to use tools, which is a rare behavior in the animal world.

Answer: False

The orca, also known as the killer whale, is the largest dolphin in the oceans. It is known to kill humans, although it is not a common event. Three trainers have been killed at the aquatic parks known as Seaworld by orcas in spite of being specifically trained not to harm humans.

This mighty animal is NOT thought to be a threat to humans and is not known to hunt humans. The orca is an apex predator that has no known natural predators other than man. The orca can be found in every oceon of the world and will eat almost any type of large marine life including whales, seals, walruses, and fish.

Answer: False

This is completely false. The Yangtze River dolphin, also known as the baiji, was declared functionally extinct in 2006. The extinction of this species is due mainly to habitat loss, collisions with ships and boats, and accidental entanglement in fishing gear.

In 2001 the Chinese government approved legislation aimed at saving these unique mammals but it probably came too late. The baiji was a small freshwater dolphin, with poor eyesight, that fed on small fish.