Q 01/05

Which animal have NOAA teams had to pull out of the noses of several young Hawaiian monk seals?

A) A crab

B) A squid

C) An eel

D) A shrimp

Answer · why

C) An eel

An eel dangling from a nostril has been seen a handful of times, and every seal was caught and freed unharmed. One theory is that a cornered eel bolts...

Q 02/05

The Hawaiian name for the Hawaiian monk seal describes which animal "that runs in rough water"?

A) A dog

B) A horse

C) A deer

D) A rabbit

Answer · why

A) A dog

A dog that runs in rough water is the meaning of ʻīlio holo i ka uaua. Native Hawaiians coined the name for an animal that had reached the islands mil...

Q 03/05

A deadly parasite that threatens Hawaiian monk seals spreads through the droppings of which animals?

A) Rats

B) Cats

C) Pigs

D) Goats

Answer · why

B) Cats

Cats are the only animals in which the toxoplasmosis parasite produces its eggs, which wash from their droppings into the sea. Keeping pets indoors is...

Q 04/05

Which color can a Hawaiian monk seal's fur turn after it has spent a long spell at sea?

A) Blue

B) Purple

C) White

D) Green

Answer · why

D) Green

Green fur comes from algae growing on the coat, a sign the seal has gone a long time since its yearly molt, when it sheds the old coat and comes out s...

Q 05/05

What does a Hawaiian monk seal mother go without for the whole time she is nursing her pup?

A) Sleep

B) Food

C) Shade

D) Company

Answer · why

B) Food

Food is off the menu because she never leaves her pup to hunt, living on her own fat until weaning. Then she swims off for good, and the pup has to te...