California Squirrels Unveil Remarkable New Diet, Showcasing Nature’s Surprises

If you were asked to imagine a California squirrel's dinner plate (Otospermophilus beecheyi), you would surely say that it eats a mixture of tree or plant leaves with seeds. And you would be right, well only partly. Indeed, a recent study published in the Journal of Ethology highlighted the fact that these very cute animals could be particularly prolific predators.

But scientists weren't sure whether this opportunity to eat something outside of their usual diet was then due to hunting or scavenging behavior.

“There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us” explained associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Jennifer E. Smith, to AFP. Especially since the news is surprising.

For Sonja Wild, one of the co-authors of the study, this was simply inconceivable. “I couldn't believe my eyes. But when we looked closer, all we saw was that [ndr, le comportement de chasse chez les écureuils de Californie]” explained the researcher to the press agency.

Potential predators

It is therefore during a study which has now lasted for twelve years in the Briones Regional Park in California that observations of squirrels being hunters rather than scavengers have been made.

And the favorite prey of these small animals that we mostly see as endearing little balls of fur are… voles, small rodents. But it is possible that this particular behavior observed for the first time in these squirrels is mainly episodic.

Indeed, the study showed that hunting behaviors among California squirrels mainly took place at a given time of the year: mid-summer. A moment which coincides with a very strong increase in the vole population in the Briones Regional Park.

Like felines, squirrels ambush small rodents, jump on their necks and shake them brutally until they die. The little balls of fur are a little less cute all of a sudden.

Is it a matter of adaptation for California squirrels?

Have California squirrels always been carnivores or did they become so out of necessity? This is the question that we can ask ourselves and that the researchers behind the study published in the Journal of Ethology.

“In an ever-changing world, it can be daunting to consider all the challenges that human presence, habitat loss and climate change impose on animals.” declared the main author of the study to AFP.

Thus, the squirrels may have changed their diet to adapt to more difficult living conditions where their usual food is no longer found in sufficient quantity to be able to survive. Finally, for researchers, now that they have been able to highlight this particular behavior, it remains to be seen how it is transmitted.

Source : ScienceAlert