In the face of a threat, narwhals respond in just about the worst possible way
Narwhals can't choose whether to freeze or flee after being caught in human hunting nets - and that reaction can put them in grave danger, according to a study of the marine mammals.
The discovery, described in the journal Science, has implications for the vulnerability of these mammals as they become increasingly exposed to human disturbance.
"They're pushing their biology as far as they can ... and we're concerned maybe it's going to push them too far," said lead author Terrie Williams, an ecophysiologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The narwhal, a beluga-whale relative whose long tusk (on males) has led some to call it the "unicorn of the sea," spends its
