Test Your Knowledge Of Animal Intelligence With This Fact-Packed Quiz!

Why do whalers struggle with sperm whales?

Retry Correct Incorrect According to a 2021 study in the Biology Letters journal, 19th-century whalers found that successful harpoon strikes against sperm whales fell by 58% within the first few years of trying to catch them in a given area. The reason was that this was all the time it took for sperm whale communities to learn what to look for, how to run from whaling ships, and even how to attack whalers. Their experience was pooled together, and thus, each whale became harder to catch.

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Francois Gohier/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Francois Gohier/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Why do whalers struggle with sperm whales?

• The whales formed convoys large enough to topple whaling ships
• The whales attacked the ones who knew what they were doing
• The whales acted so friendly that the whalers felt guilty
• The whales warned and strategized with each other