In a long-term project, scientists examined the interaction between ground squirrels and voles. In almost half of the encounters between the rodents, the ground squirrel was chasing the mouse. “That was shocking,” said biologist Jennifer E. Smith. “We had never seen this before.” The California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) is widespread on the west coast of the USA and lives in close proximity to people. “This behavior, never seen before in science, sheds light on the fact that there is so much more to learn about the natural history of the world around us,” Smith explained.
“Could hardly believe my eyes”
When students told co-author of the new study Sonja Wild about the ground squirrel hunt, she could hardly believe it and watched videos. “I could hardly believe my eyes,” said the environmental scientist. “From then on we observed this behavior almost every day. As soon as we started looking, we saw it everywhere.” The observations were made in the summer, when the vole population was skyrocketing in Briones Regional Park. This suggests that the ground squirrels' hunting behavior was accompanied by a temporary increase in the availability of prey, the scientists said.
“The fact that California ground squirrels are behaviorally flexible and can respond to changes in food availability may help them survive in environments that are rapidly changing due to human presence,” Wild suggests. Smith underlined the importance of field research: “Digital technology can inform science, but there is no substitute for going out and observing behavior, because what animals do always surprises us.” Next summer, the scientists want to go back into nature Dive in and explore how widespread hunting behavior is, how it is learned and taught, and how it impacts the ecosystem.
