New research reveals that ground squirrels, previously thought to be primarily herbivores, are engaging in widespread hunting and killing of voles.
A ground squirrel runs with a vole in its mouth in Briones Regional Park, where researchers have witnessed the new carnivorous behavior.New findings turn the common understanding of squirrel foraging behavior on its head. Previously, the consensus was that ground squirrels primarily ate seeds and other vegetation — only occasionally scavenging for lizards, birds, eggs and bugs.
Researchers at UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for the first time captured squirrels in Contra Costa County hunting and killing voles, small rodents related to hamsters that typically weigh less than 2 ounces.Its fluffy body stays low to the ground, silently stalking its prey. While the small rodent remains unaware, the predator goes in for the kill, pouncing quickly, pinning the animal to the ground before brutally decapitating it and starting to feast.“I could barely believe my eyes,” said Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral research fellow at UC Davis. “Once we started looking, we saw it everywhere.” For the first time, researchers at UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire captured squirrels in Contra Costa County hunting and killing voles, small rodents related to hamsters that typically weigh less than two ounces. Wild worked on the study with lead author Jennifer Smith, an associate professor of biology at UW-Eau Claire.“I was very excited to hear about it and also a little bit taken aback about how these cute squirrels that we’ve been studying for over a decade were engaging in this carnivorous behavior,” Smith said.This summer was the first time they observed widespread carnivorous behavior among the ground squirrel population. “It really helps to have the study subjects habituated to us,” Smith said. “There are humans in the park all of the time, but the squirrels respond differently to members of Team Squirrel. We walk differently. We are very, very cautious. We observe at a distanc
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY ANIMAL BEHAVIOR CARNIVOROUS GROUND SQUIRREL VOLES
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