Why do Whales Beach Themselves Reading Answers

Mar 14, 2024

Why do Whales Beach Themselves Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Why do whales beach themselves Reading Answers have a total of 11 IELTS questions in total. This topic has first 7 questions in which we have to choose appropriate titles from the paragraphs. The next 4 questions we have to choose the right option from the four given choices.

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Section 1

Why do Whales Beach Themselves

hundred corpses litter a beach in Tasmania(Australia), it's the first pod of whales to strand this particular season. A group of researchers, Vets and other experts take skin samples, collect tissue and teeth samples, recording anything that could answer
the crucial biggest question: why did these whales bleach? There are tonnes of theories, some more convincing than others. For many years, the reason why whales wash up has been a mystery. But slowly and gradually, their corpses are unfolding their secrets.
When 70 small dolphins were stranded on the British coast in the year 2007, locals immediately blamed the army. Fishermen had sensed unusual activity beneath the waves of the sea. In recent years, navy SONAR technology has been assumed culprit of causing certain whales to strand. It's well known that noise pollution from industry, shipping etc. can interfere with underwater communication - but can it really drive whales from ocean towards beach?
There are two evolving concepts about the effects of sonar. Firstly, the noise can be surprising to the animal, cousing it to swim fast to the surface, resulting in compression sickness (known to human divers as the
bends'), which can restrict the supply of blood to the brain and ultimately kill it. Secondly, sound waves can also make bubbles with a similar effect like compression sickness. But these are still our theories, and based on our comprehension of land-based animals rather than deep-diving sea bodies. One researcher said, 'whales have been stranding for a very long time -pre-sonar. So it can't be just like that.'
When animals beach adjacent to each other at the same time, the humans have no role in it. Some whale species, are just too friendly for their own wellness. If one of a group strands and sounds the cry, others will try and come for its help, and hence become stuck themselves. In a social group of animals one animal's navigational mistake becomes dangerous and fatally affects the whole group of animals.
Data has disclosed that all mass stranding regions around Australia were gently sloping sandy beaches, some with inclines of less than 0.5 degrees. Shallow sandy beaches disrupt their echolocation system of the whales. On a gentle sandy beach the echo disappears, the whales believe there is no stoppage ahead of them. When the whale doesn't hear any echo, it continues to swim at rapid speed until it strikes onto the beach.
Ralph James, a physicist, suggests that physics can be of help with the 'when' and 'Where'. Rising bubbles can block some of the whales echoes, and the ocean is full of bubbles. Larger ones quickly rise to the surface and disappear, while the microbubbles
- can last for days. It's the smaller ones that can absorb the whales' echolocation clicks. Harsh weather generates more bubbles than usual and during and after a storm whales may essentially be swimming blind. There seems to be some anecdotal evidence in support of James' storm theory, Strandings in Tasmania often take place in quite wild weather. Rain droplets on the sea surface and large water waves pounding the coast both add bubbles to water near the shore.
Mass strandings have also been connected with sunspot cycles and some scientists believe that fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field may be part of the story. Others are more sceptical about the sunspot link. There is also proof that the strandings are linked to major climatic cycles, like strong westerly and southerly winds that bring cool, nutrient-rich water closer to the southern coast of Australia. This water contains plankton and fish, and the whales follow their food.
Some wonder why so many whales, once rescued from the beach, turn around and beach themselves again. One possible explanation can be the harm of first bleaching. Sperm whales, for instance, due to their large size and weight, can die rapidly

before rescuers can help them. While lying on the beach, they can topple over due to their weight unsupported by water and fall onto a flipper. This prevents blood flow to the flipper, which then becomes ineffective for its main purpose of steering. As a result, when the whale is back at sea, it can no longer control its direction and often comes back unintentionally to the beach to become stranded again.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 29-36

Choose the correct heading for each paragroph. Write i-xi on your answer sheet.

ways that sound may cause damage
failure to detect coastal water depth
the necessity to escape from predators
weather drives whales to food
possible cause of dual bleaching
threats of helping a fellow whale
collecting the proof for study
principally Tasmanian problem
a conclusive study/theory
a possible military intervention?
air globules in the water

Paragraph A -

Answer: VII
Supporting statement: “.........A group of researchers, Vets and other experts take skin samples, collect tissue and teeth samples, recording anything that could answer
the crucial biggest question: why did these whales bleach .......”
Keywords: samples, tissue
Keyword Location: para 1, line 2
Explanation:. It is given that the researchers collected the tissue and teeth samples. Because they wanted to collect the proof for the study.

Paragraph B -

Answer: X
Supporting statement: “........ In recent years, navy SONAR technology has been assumed culprit of causing certain whales to strand.........”
Keywords: assumed, culprit
Keyword Location: para B, line 3
Explanation: It is given that in the recent years the navy has started using the sonar technology. It is expected that it was the reason behind stranding of the whales.

Paragraph C -

Answer: I
Supporting statement: “........ Firstly, the noise can be surprising to the animal, cousing it to swim fast to the surface, resulting in compression sickness (known to human divers as the bends'),.........”
Keywords: swim, bends
Keyword Location: para C, line 2
Explanation: It is given that the noise can be surprising to the animals. It could be the reason behind the sickness of the animals.

Paragraph D-

Answer: VI
Supporting statement: “........Some whale species, are just too friendly for their own wellness. If one of a group strands and sounds the cry, others will try and come for its help, and hence become stuck themselves.........”
Keywords: stuck, others
Keyword Location: para D, line 2
Explanation: It is given that the whales species are friendly species. Hence if one group strands then others come to help them.

Paragraph E -

Answer: II
Supporting statement: “........Shallow sandy beaches disrupt their echolocation system of the whales. On a gentle sandy beach the echo disappears,.........”
Keywords: whales, echo
Keyword Location: para E, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the sandy beaches lead to the disruption of the echolocation system of whales. It will not allow the echo to reach the bottom.

Paragraph F -

Answer: XI
Supporting statement: “..........Rising bubbles can block some of the whales echoes, and the ocean is full of bubbles. Larger ones quickly rise to the surface and disappear, while the microbubbles - can last for days........”
Keywords: ocean, microbubbles
Keyword Location: para F, line 2
Explanation: It is given that the echo of whales create bubbles in the ocean. The larger bubble rises and bursts and smaller bubble stays in the surface.

Paragraph G

Answer: IV
Supporting statement: “........There is also proof that the strandings are linked to major climatic cycles, like strong westerly and southerly winds that bring cool, nutrient-rich water closer to the southern coast of Australia.........”
Keywords: climate, nutrient
Keyword Location: para G, line 3
Explanation: It is given that it has been proved that the climate cycles and westerly winds are responsible for the movement of whales towards food.

paragraph H

Answer: V
Supporting statement: “........Some wonder why so many whales, once rescued from the beach, turn around and beach themselves again..........”
Keywords: beach, turn
Keyword Location: para H, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the whales are beached twice. This is the reason behind the stranding of whales.

Questions 37-40

Choose the correct answer - A, B, C or D.

Why might an abnormal noise harm a sea body like whale?

it can push the animal away from others
it may cause a startled whale to swim up too fast
it can interfere with communication between animals
it can lead to whale and boat collision

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “........Firstly, the noise can be surprising to the animal, cousing it to swim fast to the surface, resulting in compression sickness .........”
Keywords: swim, surface
Keyword Location: para C, line 2
Explanation:. It is given that the whale will panic hearing loud noise. And it will try to go to the surface fast.

Why do some researchers discount the threats of SONAR to whales?

it has never caused any whale deaths
the animals aren't surprised by such sounds
whales were bleaching even before SONAR invention
SONAR only affect terrestrial animals

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “.......our comprehension of land-based animals rather than deep-diving sea bodies One researcher said, 'whales have been stranding for a very long time -pre-sonar. So it can't be just like that.' ..........”
Keywords: diving, sonar
Keyword Location: para C, line 6
Explanation: It is given that the whales were stranding even when the sonar were not invented.

Why do whales fail to see problems near shallow, sandy beaches ?

rough waters have too much sand
the depth of water decreases too quickly for them to understand and detect
they focus more on their food
the sloping beach suppresses the communication between them.

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “....... Shallow sandy beaches disrupt their echolocation system of the whales. On a gentle sandy beach the echo disappears, the whales believe there is no stoppage ahead of them..........”
Keywords: stoppage, beach
Keyword Location: para E, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the shallow sandy beaches disrupt the echo system of whales. It leads to the suppression in communication between them.

James theory is supported by?

local weather cycles
magnetic field studies
whale injuries
sun observation

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “.......Harsh weather generates more bubbles than usual and during and after a storm whales may essentially be swimming blind..........”
Keywords: during, swimming
Keyword Location: para F, line 5
Explanation: It is given that the harsh weather generate more bubbles than usual. It leads to the whales to become swimming blind.

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