Passive Fear: Alternative to Fight or Flight: When frightened animals hide

As our knowledge of the passive response to fear in animals deepens, a clearer understanding of the human fear response will emerge. But there is more to science than facts and discoveries and breakthroughs. Scientific research has its own compensation. Doing the work of science is rewarding. Working outside with camera and binoculars while becoming one with nature is awe-inspiring. Discovering the secrets of how animals live and what they do and why they do it is the most satisfying thing I have ever accomplished. Animals do interesting things. Our respect for animals and all of nature increases as we try to fathom the complexities of even commonplace creatures. One of the most exciting aspects of scientific adventure is not knowing where it will lead. My curiosity about how alligators stayed warm started me on a journey of wonderment to how hiding animals respond to fear. And that journey lead to the crib of a baby at risk for an insidious killer. It is impossible to anticipate where future research into the passive fear response will lead. One fact is abundantly clear; it will be an exciting voyage into the unknown.

E. Norbert Smith has a doctorate in zoology. He has written more than two hundred technical papers and published dozens of articles. His alligator research was included in the BBC TV documentary A Smile for the Crocodile. Smith lives on a farm in Oklahoma.