A recent study suggests that killer whales and other marine mammals are far more likely to pick up sonar signals than was previously thought.

Scientists have discovered that commercially available sonar systems, which are designed to create signals beyond the range of hearing of such animals, do in fact emit signals known to be within their hearing range.

The sound is likely very soft and audible only when the animals are within a few hundred meters of the source, say the authors of a new study. The signals would not cause any actual tissue damage, but it’s possible that they affect the behavior of some marine mammals, which rely heavily on sound to communicate, navigate, and find food.
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