Posted on Dec 20, 2024
Killer squirrels have developed taste for flesh — and voles are running for their lives
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I see squirrels as "rats in fancy fur coats"
Ground squirrels usually eat seeds and nuts, but in a park in California, these cute, furry creatures have turned into carnivorous killers, mercilessly hunting down voles to peel the flesh from their bones.
The unusual new behavior, which researchers caught on camera in Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, could be driven by an explosion in vole numbers, according to a new study published Wednesday (Dec. 18) in the Journal of Ethology.
Students have been observing squirrels in Briones Regional Park for 12 years as part of a long-term research project at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis. In all that time, researchers had never witnessed anything like what they saw in the summer of 2024.
Ground squirrels usually eat seeds and nuts, but in a park in California, these cute, furry creatures have turned into carnivorous killers, mercilessly hunting down voles to peel the flesh from their bones.
The unusual new behavior, which researchers caught on camera in Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, could be driven by an explosion in vole numbers, according to a new study published Wednesday (Dec. 18) in the Journal of Ethology.
Students have been observing squirrels in Briones Regional Park for 12 years as part of a long-term research project at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis. In all that time, researchers had never witnessed anything like what they saw in the summer of 2024.
Killer squirrels have developed taste for flesh — and voles are running for their lives
Posted from livescience.com
Animals
Wildlife
Food/Chow
Edited 12 mo ago
Posted 12 mo ago
Responses: 10
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SPC (Join to see)
I also call them tree rats....destructive creatures. I've known about their carnivore and cannibalistic ways for years. They'll eat each others young...and the rubber hoses and and electrical harnesses on boats, trailers, vehicles of all sorts, barn, garage, house, etc... I'm not fond of them....
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
What Amazes Some Is When They Discover Even Monkeys Are Not ONLY Carnivores, But Also Cannibalistic In Nature.. Mostly Males Of The Species, Will Gather Together As In A Gang, And Attack Another Member, Killing & Eating Them....
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I see a new horror movie in the works. The Attack of the Killer Squirrels, Squirrels With Bloody Faces, The Acorn Killers, or Gnaws (just when you thought it was safe to go to the park again).
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One day while changing my cabin air filter in my cars glove box, I discovered what I thought was a mice nest with seeds from my bird feeder. So I stopped feeding the birds and set mouse traps in my garage. What I began to trap was voles. Never heard of them before. My 2 cats alerted me to them when they would scratch in the walls of our house.
Since I got rid of the bird feeder, the problem is almost gone. I only trapped 2 of them this year. How they got in my cars glove box I will never know. Maybe it was warm there because of the cars heater core.
Since I got rid of the bird feeder, the problem is almost gone. I only trapped 2 of them this year. How they got in my cars glove box I will never know. Maybe it was warm there because of the cars heater core.
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