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Narwhals’ mixed-up response to fear could kill them

Tracking study suggests the Arctic whales are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance.
  1. Emma Young
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When confronted with a human threat, most animals either freeze or flee — but the narwhal does a mixture of both, say the authors of a study in Science1. This paradoxical response could make the toothed whales particularly vulnerable to the expansion of human activity in their Arctic habitat.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-017-08244-y

References

  1. Williams, T. M., Blackwell, S. B., Richter, B., Sinding, M.-H. S. & Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. Science 358, 1328–1331 (2017).

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  2. Alboni, P., Alboni, M. & Gianfranchi, L. J. Cardiovasc. Med. 12, 422–427 (2011).

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