Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California squirrels go nuts for vole meat

WASHINGTON – Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart and devour voles.

That is the startling finding of a new study published on Dec 18 in the Journal Of Ethology – the first to document widespread carnivorous behaviour in these seemingly innocent creatures.

“There is always something new to learn, and wild animals continue to surprise us,” lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, told AFP.

“In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards.”

The observations were made in summer 2024, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.

Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 per cent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.

Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially sceptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behaviour.

“I could barely believe my eyes,” Ms Wild said. But “once we started looking, we saw it everywhere”.

It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds.

But it was unclear if this behaviour stemmed from scavenging or active predation.

The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behaviour.

Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.

The study also found that the squirrels’ carnivorous behaviour peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.

Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.

“In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss and climate change impose on animals,” Prof Smith said. “Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess.”

Several questions still remain unanswered.

Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behaviour is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems. AFP