Squirrels spotted hunting and eating rodents in ‘shocking’ discovery

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery California ground squirrel consuming freshly hunted adult California vole “This was shocking,” Jennifer E Smith, an associate professor of biology and the study’s lead author, said. open image in gallery California ground squirrel in Conta Costa County runs with a vole it hunted Researchers documented scores of instances of ground squirrels of all ages hunting, eating and competing over vole prey within a span of under two months. Chimpanzees Have Cognitive Skills To Make A Cup Of PG Tips “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,” Sonja Wild, another author of the study, said. open image in gallery California ground squirrel dines on a vole it hunted in a Bay Area regional park Many questions remain unanswered, however, such as how widespread this behaviour is among squirrels.