‘It’s a dietary niche’: researchers amazed to find squirrels hunt and eat voles
Scientists suspect behaviour is ‘opportunistic’ as California ground squirrels are mostly, but not always, herbivorous
They may have twitchy noses and a quizzical expression but ground squirrels are not as cuddly as they appear: researchers have found they repeatedly hunt and eat voles, decapitating their prey and pulling flesh from the torso.
The team say the discovery was a shock: while California ground squirrels have previously been observed eating insects, bird eggs, hatchlings and even – albeit rarely – scavenging small, juvenile mammals, they were primarily thought to be herbivorous, snacking on seeds, acorns, fruits and nuts.
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