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"They're encountered so infrequently that any particular population of the species could be dramatically declining and we would never know it," Baird said. "That's one of the problems with very rare species." The study said there has been no documented case of a pygmy killer whale being hurt by sonar. But it also said there's low probability anyone would be able to document such harm given the whales are so rare and because they generally spend their time miles offshore. Environmentalists argue the Navy's mid-frequency active sonar can disrupt whale feeding patterns, and in the most extreme cases can kill whales by causing them to beach themselves. The Navy acknowledges its sonar, used to hunt enemy submarines, may harm some marine mammals. But it says it takes steps to protect whales, including having ships power down their sonar when whales are nearby and posting marine mammal lookouts on deck. Fishing is the another potential human source of harm to pygmy killer whales. The study said there has been no report of a pygmy killer whale dying as a result of Hawaii's long-line tuna and swordfish fishery. But the mouth of a pygmy killer whale that stranded on Oahu in 2006 had hook and line marks, indicating fishing lines affect the animals. Marine Mammal Science is published by the Society for Marine Mammalogy. ___ On the Net: Society for Marine Mammalogy: http://www.marinemammalogy.org/
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