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.""
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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'
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