Q 01/05

Amazon river dolphins turn pinker with age; what is believed to give adult males their rosy colour?

A) A diet of shrimp

B) Scar tissue

C) Sun exposure

D) Pink river algae

Answer · why

B) Scar tissue

Scar tissue builds up over years of fights and rough play, so battle-worn males end up the pinkest. Females are thought to prefer the brighter ones.

Q 02/05

In Amazon folklore, a river dolphin comes ashore at night as a charming man wearing what to hide his blowhole?

A) A wig

B) A scarf

C) A hat

D) A mask

Answer · why

C) A hat

A hat covers the one feature the shapeshifter cannot change. In the tales he loves a party, then hurries back to the water by morning to become a dolp...

Q 03/05

Which part of the Amazon river dolphin's body bends unusually far because its vertebrae there are not fused?

A) Neck

B) Tail

C) Chest

D) Hips

Answer · why

A) Neck

Neck bones that stay separate let the dolphin turn its head 90 degrees to chase fish around tight obstacles. Ocean dolphins have fused ones and cannot...

Q 04/05

Male Amazon river dolphins have been seen rolling belly-up to launch what into the air for other males to chase?

A) A jet of water

B) A cloud of bubbles

C) A mouthful of mud

D) A stream of urine

Answer · why

D) A stream of urine

A stream of urine is fired skyward while another male tracks it with his snout, behaviour that researchers think may pass on chemical signals.

Q 05/05

Which ocean predator, famed for swimming far up rivers, is thought capable of preying on Amazon river dolphins?

A) Tiger shark

B) Lemon shark

C) Nurse shark

D) Bull shark

Answer · why

D) Bull shark

Bull shark jaws are a rare danger because the species thrives in both salt and fresh water. Even so, no natural predator of the dolphin has ever been ...