Young women are criticized for this vocal tic — but it helps whales survive

Kim Kardashian does it. So does Scarlett Johansson and Katy Perry.

And it turns out many whales also use “vocal fry,” the deep, gravelly vocal register these celebrities and a growing number of young American women have taken up.

Except the group of animals, which includes sperm whales, orcas, dolphins and porpoises, use “vocal fry” to help find their prey, according to the paper published Thursday. The study in the journal Science found the whales, like people, have at least three vocal registers: A normal voice, a falsetto and that creaky fry.