Q 01/05

The word narwhal comes from an Old Norse name, possibly inspired by its mottled grey skin, meaning what?

A) Ghost whale

B) Corpse whale

C) Unicorn whale

D) Spear whale

Answer · why

B) Corpse whale

Corpse whale is the meaning of the Old Norse nárhval. The name may also reflect the narwhal's habit of floating motionless at the surface on summer da...

Q 02/05

What was the fate of narwhals brought into captivity during repeated attempts in the 1960s and 1970s?

A) They were released unharmed

B) They lost their tusks

C) They bred successfully

D) They died within months

Answer · why

D) They died within months

They died within months each time, so the attempts stopped. In the wild, by contrast, narwhals live for around 50 years on average.

Q 03/05

The long spiralled tusk of a male narwhal is an overgrown version of which type of tooth?

A) Canine

B) Incisor

C) Molar

D) Premolar

Answer · why

A) Canine

A canine forms the tusk, erupting through the lip when the whale is two or three years old and growing for life. Elephant tusks, by contrast, are inci...

Q 04/05

Which trait, rare in the animal kingdom, do female narwhals share with women and a few other toothed whales?

A) Menstruation

B) Twin pregnancies

C) Menopause

D) Morning sickness

Answer · why

C) Menopause

Menopause lets female narwhals live for decades after their last calf. Females in this phase may go on protecting the calves of the pod.

Q 05/05

In Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, which vessel is first taken for a gigantic narwhal?

A) The Pequod

B) The Nautilus

C) The Hispaniola

D) The Albatross

Answer · why

B) The Nautilus

The Nautilus, Captain Nemo's electric submarine, is hunted as a sea monster by a US Navy frigate. The narrator learns the truth only after being throw...