Stressed-Out Narwhals Don't Know Whether To Freeze Or Flee, Scientists Find : The Two-Way : NPR : "Narwhals — the unicorns of the sea — show a weird fear response after being entangled in nets. Scientists say this unusual reaction to human-induced stress might restrict blood flow to the brain and leave the whales addled. The narwhals swim hard and dive deep to escape after being released from a net, but at the same time their heart rates dramatically plummet, according to a newly published report in Science. It's almost like they are simultaneously trying to freeze and flee. "This is an unusual reaction to an unusual kind of threat," says Terrie Williams, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "I don't believe that this is the normal response when the animals are being pursued by a killer whale."" 'via Blog this'