Ok, we don’t venture into the wildlife world too often but when we do it’s usually not mundane. Case in point: Research released to day says at least in California, ground and rock squirrels chew up rattlesnake skin and smear it on their fur to mask their scent from predators. And you thought squirrels were pretty much crazy creatures only good for chewing up your birdfeeder.
But that’s not all. The researchers at University of California Davis said squirrels can: heat up their tails to send a warning signal to rattlesnakes, which can “see” in the infrared; assess how dangerous a particular snake is, based on the sound of its rattle; display assertive behavior against snakes to deter attacks; and that these squirrels have evolved resistance to snake venom.
Back to the smearing item. Researchers said adult female squirrels and juveniles apply snake scent more often than adult males, which are less vulnerable to snake predation. The scent probably helps to mask the squirrel’s own scent, especially when the animals are asleep in their burrows at night, or to persuade a snake that another snake is in the burrow, researchers said. The squirrels are not limited to the use of shed snake skins, as they also pick up snake odor from soil and other surfaces on which snakes have been resting, and use that to apply scent. Other rodents have been observed using similar behavior, researchers said.
That’s an amazing package, made more amazing because it’s well, a squirrel. Makes you wonder how come the little guys can’t develop a better way to dodge cars on suburban roadways.
Layer 8 in a box
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