Narwhals react to certain dangers in a really strange way
‘Unicorns of the sea’ fleeing humans show the physiological signs of also being frozen in fear
By
Mariah Quintanilla
2:41pm, December 7, 2017
When escaping from humans, narwhals don’t just freeze or flee. They do both.
These deep-diving marine mammals have similar physiological responses to those of an animal frozen in fear: Their heart rate, breathing and metabolism slow, mimicking a “deer in the headlights†reaction. But narwhals (Monodon monoceros) take this freeze response to extremes. The animals decrease their heart rate to as slow as three beats per minute for more than 10 minutes, while pumping their tails as much as 25 strokes per minute during an escape dive, an international team of researchers reports in the Dec. 8 Science.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/narwhals-react-certain-dangers-really-strange-way?mode=topic&context=87
