Squirrels may appear like lovely, nut-hoarding furballs, however some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear aside, and devour voles.
That’s the startling discovering of a brand new research printed Wednesday within the Journal of Ethology – the primary to doc widespread carnivorous habits in these seemingly harmless creatures.
“There is all the time one thing new to study and wild animals proceed to shock us,” lead writer Jennifer E. Smith, an affiliate professor of biology on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire advised AFP.
“In a altering world with many technological advances, there isn’t any substitute for direct commentary of pure historical past, together with watching the squirrels and birds that always go to our backyards.”
The observations had been made this summer time, in the course of the twelfth 12 months of a long-term research performed at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California floor squirrels and voles, with 42 % of them involving energetic looking of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher on the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the experiences dropped at her by undergraduate college students who first witnessed the habits.
“I may barely consider my eyes,” stated Wild. But “as soon as we began trying, we noticed it in every single place.”
It was beforehand identified that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically eat meat, starting from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether or not this habits stemmed from scavenging or energetic predation.
The new research is the primary to verify that looking is, in actual fact, a typical habits.
Researchers noticed squirrels crouching low to the bottom earlier than ambushing their prey, although extra typically, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck chunk adopted by vigorous shaking.
The research additionally discovered that the squirrels’ carnivorous habits peaked in the course of the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, equivalent to raccoons, coyotes, and noticed hyenas, have been identified to adapt their looking methods in response to human-induced adjustments of their environments.
“In a altering world, it may be daunting to contemplate the entire challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and local weather change impose on animals,” stated Smith.
“Our research gives an thrilling silver lining, demonstrating the unbelievable flexibility that some animals possess.”
Several questions nonetheless stay unanswered.
Researchers hope to research how widespread looking habits is amongst squirrel species, whether or not it’s handed down from mother and father to pups, and the way it impacts their broader ecosystems.
© Agence France-Presse
