How fast can a frightened short-tailed shrew's heart beat?

Answer 1

Around 1,200 times is how fast the heart of a frightened short-tailed shrew [Blarina spp] can beat per minute. The combined stress of the fright, the speed of the heart, and the reaction of other body parts can cause the shrew literally to die from fright. Generally, the shrew can rely on the fail-safe defense/offense of biting enemies and prey in the face and thereby paralyzing the threat or the food source with poisonous saliva. It's quite effective in dealing with food sources such as snails, other small mammals, invertebrates, and insects. But confronted with the most frightening of frights, all shrew defenses and offenses go out the window.