In a battle between predator and prey, it's refreshing to have the underdog emerge victorious from time to time, isn't it?
California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) and rattlesnakes have been living side by side in apparent 'harmony' for years and just recently, studies have revealed just how these furry creatures have managed to keep their more 'sinister' predators at bay.
The technique? These squirrels threaten their predators by heating up their tails and shaking them vigorously. That's all it takes for the rattlesnakes, which in turn detect the infrared produced by the squirrels' actions, to slither off. Of course it helps that the adult squirrels are immune to rattlesnake venom so if one doesn't heed a tail-wagged-warning, it then risks facing an aggressive attack by the squirrels (this could involve biting and stone-throwing). Check out this article for more information.
This next link provides a detailed account of an experiment done on the above mentioned behaviour. The experiment highlights not only the increase in heat from tail wagging, it also reveals rattlesnake responses (they are rightly afraid of the heat) and shows that the squirrels only wag their tails in the presence of rattlesnakes (Gopher snakes, for example, cannot detect infrared signals).
One hot squirrel
In another study, the squirrels were found to also smear on snake scent by "picking up pieces of shed snakeskin, chewing it and then licking their fur." The deception works when snakes passing through think they've hit another snake burrow as opposed to a squirrel burrow.
The California Ground Squirrel
The squirrels' clever tactics show how they
1. Have adapted to a whole range of defenses against their predators
2. Display inter-species communication (through tail wagging or flapping and infrared signals) with the snakes
One researcher aptly sums up why I find the squirrels so impressive:
"It's a nice example of the opportunism of animals. They're turning the tables on the snake."
Citations: "
Hot squirrels,” by Brad Kloza. ScienCentralNews, 17 Aug 2007.
"
Squirrel has hot tail to tell snakes," by JR Minkel. Scientific American, 14 Aug 2007.
"
Squirrels use snake skin to disguise themselves from predators," by Andy Fell. Mongabay.com, 20 Dec 2007.
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Ground squirrels heat tails to combat rattlers," by Benny Bleiman. Scienceblogs: Zooillogix, 21 Aug 2007.
Pictures:http://migames.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/squirrel-with-machine-gun.jpghttp://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2007/08/ground_squirrels_heat_tails_to_1.phphttp://www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=5765&articleTypeId=1