State’s squirrels spotted hunting and decapitating voles (another member of the rodent family). The study’s leader cited human-caused “climate change” while praising this adaptive dietary flexibility.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
Recent biological research has revealed a shocking shift in the dietary habits of California ground squirrels.
Ground squirrels, which traditionally eat fruits and nuts, have now been observed actively hunting and consuming voles, another member of the rodent family. It is a behavior previously undocumented for this species.
This discovery was part of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California, as part of the Long-Term Behavioral Ecology of California Ground Squirrels Project.
On one occasion, scientists watched in horror as a squirrel ‘vigorously’ shook its prey while holding it in its mouth.
The observations have suggested that these nut foraging creatures are evolving into carnivorous predators.
‘This was shocking,’ said Dr Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who led the study.
‘We had never seen this behavior before. Squirrels are one of the most familiar animals to people.’
Researchers have documented killer carnivorous squirrels in California hunting and eating voles:
(Warning: graphic) pic.twitter.com/RbdfHaUHyW
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) December 19, 2024
According to the LA Times, the mad killing skills of the squirrels impressed the research team.
A video released by researchers shows a ground squirrel grabbing a vole by the neck and shaking it — clear predatory behavior meant to quickly kill prey, said Dan Blumstein, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA who studies marmots, a related species of large ground squirrel. In squirrels, most biological dietary factors, such as their teeth and stomachs, are adapted for vegetation such as nuts and seeds, not meat, he said.
Blumstein, before reading the details of the study, thought that the carnivorous behavior might have been isolated to female squirrels desperate for the nutrients needed to feed their young. But according to the study, the behavior was found in male and female squirrels across age groups. They displayed other behavior typically associated with predators: When one squirrel would successfully hunt down prey, another squirrel would sometimes try to steal it.
“I could barely believe my eyes,” Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral research fellow at UC Davis who co-led the project alongside Smith, said in a release. “From then, we saw that behavior almost every day. Once we started looking, we saw it everywhere.”
Of course, the UC Davis study “expert” quickly linked this behavior to environmental change caused by…humans.
Through videos, photos and direct observations at the regional park, the authors documented California ground squirrels of all ages and genders hunting, eating and competing over vole prey between June 10 and July 30.
The squirrels’ carnivorous summer behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with an explosion in vole numbers at the park reported by citizen scientists on iNaturalist. This suggests that the squirrels’ hunting behavior emerged alongside a temporary increase in the availability of prey, the study said. The scientists didn’t observe the squirrels hunting other mammals.
“The fact that California ground squirrels are behaviorally flexible and can respond to changes in food availability might help them persist in environments rapidly changing due to the presence of humans,” Wild said.
The study leader cited human-caused “climate change” while praising this adaptive dietary flexibility.
“In the face of human insults such as climate change and drought, these animals are resilient and have the potential to adapt to live in a changing world,” Smith adds.
If acorn or seeds fall into low supply, for instance, squirrels appear primed to find other sources of protein and nutrients. The less stubborn an animal is about its diet, the better suited it is for survival. Although in this case, the squirrels don’t seem to be motivated by a scarcity of any other food source, per SFGATE, rather, the high population of voles appears to be the reason for their hunting.
Frankly, there is only one conclusion I can draw from the data presented:
Avoid California, where even our squirrels are vicious killers. Our animal welfare agents wouldn’t dare to take them on. pic.twitter.com/AnVbgXhrdC
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) December 21, 2024
Related
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
ADVERTISEMENT:
para, pengemar slots Pernah denger istilah “slot demo” jika? tidak bersiaplah, cinta jatuh sama konsep slot gaco ini. merupakan slot mesin sering yang kasih kemenangan Yup. slot-slot, dibilang ini bisa sebagai andalannya tuk membawa come back cuan. but cemana,
tekniknya sih nemuin slot gaco benar yang Santai? Bro and Sis bahas, kita tenang saja di sini Games
terpercaya waktu sekarang satu-satunya berada yaitu Indonesia yang memberikan ROI tertinggi SEGERA
dengan hanya di :
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT atau Raja slot paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
situs slot terbaru
situs slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
slot terbaru
slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
soda96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama soda96.com
sparta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sparta88.biz
sugesbola88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sugesbola88.org
tektok7777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tektok7777.com
tektok88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tektok88.biz
toinktoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama toinktoto88.com
tokek888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokek888slot.com
topslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama topslot888.biz
tuanslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tuanslot888.club
uang88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uang88.biz
uang8888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uang8888.com
userslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama userslot88.info
uus88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uus88.biz
waslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama waslot88.asia
wayantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama wayantogel88.com
zona666 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama zona666.biz
zona88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama zona88.biz
slot96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama slot96.biz
arjuna69 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama arjuna69.com
hqtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hqtoto88.com
bangshun88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama bangshun88.com
btc999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama btc999.org
supraslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama supraslot888.net
sortoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sortoto88.net
logamtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama logamtoto88.net
goslot777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama goslot777.info
gebyar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gebyar88.biz
botak88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama botak88.biz
ibis88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ibis88.asia
autobot777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama autobot777slot.com
jwmarriott88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jwmarriott88.com
reddoorz88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama reddoorz88.com
hotelharris88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hotelharris88.com
novotel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama novotel88.com
orientalplay88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama orientalplay88.com
oyo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama oyo88.live
agoda88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama agoda88.asia
tiket88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tiket88.asia
santika88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama santika88.org
grandaston88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama grandaston88.com
booking88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama booking88.org
grandmercure88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama grandmercure88.com
tripadvisor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tripadvisor88.com
hotelmulia88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hotelmulia88.com
aryaduta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama aryaduta88.com
shangrila88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama shangrila88.com
holidayinn88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama holidayinn88.com
antam88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama antam88.info