New York — A study published this Wednesday in the scientific journal Journal of Ethology reveals that ground squirrels CaliforniaIn addition to feeding on seeds and other parts of plants, they also hunt, kill and eat “voles”, a species of small rodent.
This research, led by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis, is the first to have documented Californian squirrels of all ages and sexes hunting and feeding on these rodentswhich are normally prey to hawks, owls, coyotes and skunks, among other animals.
The ground squirrel, a very common animal in parks and groves in the United States, is considered a herbivorous species, which normally feeds on grass and oak seeds and vegetation, such as leaves, flowers, stems, shoots, roots or branches.
However, the study has documented ground squirrels hunting and eating these types of rodents on 74 occasions, a behavior that peaked during the first two weeks of July 2024when there was also a proliferation of voles in Briones Regional Park (in Contra Costa County).
According to the article published in the Journal of Ethology, titled “Vole hunting: new predatory and carnivorous behavior of California ground squirrels,” this same behavior was not observed with other mammals.
“We have never seen this behavior. (…) This tells us that there is much more to learn about the natural history of the world around us”indicates one of the main authors, Jennifer E.Smith, associate professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin, in an article published by the center.
For her part, Sonja Wild, who also led the research, says that the fact that squirrels have “flexible behavior and can respond to changes in food availability could help them remain in environments that change rapidly due to human presence.”
The experts, who will return to the study area next summer, point out that There are still many questions to be answered, such as how widespread hunting is among squirrels.if it is something that is transmitted from parents to offspring or how it affects ecological processes.