A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis is the first to show widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels (Video Credit: Sonja Wild/UC Davis).
A new study this year has recorded for the first time widespread behavior of California ground squirrels eating other small mammals, specifically voles.
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of hamsters. They are sometimes referred to as field mice.
The research team from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California Davis found that California ground squirrels actively hunt, kill and eat these voles.
This kind of squirrel was previously thought to eat mostly nuts and grains, but the study suggests that this type of squirrel is more of a so-called “opportunistic omnivore” and hunting may be a bigger part of its normal behavior.
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According to the journal, previous studies documented more occasional meat-eating from squirrels, but that was limited to insects, eggs and scavenging scraps from trapped fish and meat.
There were very few reports of the direct killing of other adult animals, according to the study.
Researchers were astounded when they first saw the video evidence.
“I could barely believe my eyes,” Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral research fellow in the UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy department told the university. “From then, we saw that behavior almost every day. Once we started looking, we saw it everywhere.”
The team recorded 74 events of adult ground squirrels hunting and eating voles over an eight-week span in the summer of 2024.
California ground squirrel feeds on vole.
(Sonja Wild/UC Davis)
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Results from the study, published in the Journal of Ethology, showed that the squirrels’ hunting activity peaked when the vole population was the highest.
The research team indicated that this could mean that the squirrels’ hunting behavior was a response to a temporary increase in prey.
Squirrels were also recorded fighting over voles that had been hunted.
Researchers are still trying to figure out if “California ground squirrels are genetically predisposed to engage in hunting behavior when the opportunity presents itself” or if the hunting is learned behavior.
The study is part of a larger investigation into the behavioral ecology of California ground squirrels spanning a 1000 square meter area in Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.