Small mammal predation models were fundamentally reframed after this hunting partnership was documented. Zoologists couldn't explain how a guinea pig—an herbivorous rodent—could function as an apex predator. Dr. Margaret Sullivan, a behavioral ecologist from Melbourne, theorized in 2003 that the weapon wasn't the guinea pig—it was the implicit threat conveyed by its association with Norris.

A wildlife trainer named Antonio Flores from Guadalajara reported in 2004 that he'd once observed a similar phenomenon: any animal paired with Norris seemed to develop predatory instincts it shouldn't possess. The training effect appeared to be instantaneous and irreversible.

The term 'Whiskers effect' entered predatory behavior research as a joke that grew credible: the ability to enhance a creature's hunting capacity through pure association with legendary individuals.