# Reasons for Mass Strandings of Whales and Dolphins

IELTS Academic Listening - 10 questions - 8 minutes - Note completion

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 9, Test 1, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## The recording

6 minutes of audio. Practice it with the player on the page; the transcript is on the answers page.

## Questions

### Questions 31-40: Note completion

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Question 33 needs two answers joined by "and", for example "X and Y".

Mass Strandings of Whales and Dolphins
Mass strandings: situations where groups of whales, dolphins, etc. swim onto the beach and die
Common in areas where the **(31)** _____ can change quickly
Several other theories:
Parasites
e.g. some parasites can affect marine animals' **(32)** _____, which they depend on for navigation
Toxins
Poisons from **(33)** _____ are commonly consumed by whales
e.g. Cape Cod (1988) - whales were killed by saxitoxin
Accidental Strandings
Animals may follow prey ashore, e.g. Thurston (1995)
Unlikely because the majority of animals were not **(34)** _____ when they stranded
Human Activity
**(35)** _____ from military tests are linked to some recent strandings
The Bahamas (2000) stranding was unusual because the whales
were all **(36)** _____
were not in a **(37)** _____
Group Behaviour
More strandings in the most **(38)** _____ species of whales
1994 dolphin stranding - only the **(39)** _____ was ill
Further Reading
Marine Mammals Ashore (Connor) - gives information about stranding **(40)** _____

[Practice online with a timer and instant marking](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/reasons-for-mass-strandings-of-whales-and-dolphins) - [Answers and explanations](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/reasons-for-mass-strandings-of-whales-and-dolphins/answers)