When sea vessels use sonar, many whale species flee for their lives. Now, scientists have discovered the most likely reason: The loud sounds trigger the same fear response as when the animals hear calls emitted by one of their most terrifying predators.
some even strand themselves. Now, scientists have discovered the most likely reason: The loud sounds trigger the same fear response as when the animals hear calls emitted by one of their most terrifying predators: killer whales.
Scientists know some cetaceans, such as harbor porpoises and beaked whales, flee from sonar, whereas others, such as pilot whales, seem indifferent. To figure out why, Patrick Miller, a marine biologist at the University of St. Andrews, and colleagues attached sound and dive recording tags to randomly chosen members of four whale species—sperm, humpback, long-finned pilot, and northern bottlenoses—in the Norwegian Sea, above the Arctic Circle.
Hearing unusual or loud human noises, such as sonar, triggers the same defensive reaction, Miller explains. “The whales aren’t confusing sonar with killer whale sounds,” he stresses. The cetaceans flee from sonar “likely because it is loud,” he says. “They perceive it as a general threat, and that triggers their decision to escape.”
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