Why Weary Squirrels 'Pick Fights' with Sticks and Stones [VIDEO]

In your early childhood, you may have played a little superhero make-believe, getting on guard in kung foo-like poses to battle that imaginary nefarious villain who just appeared in your backyard. It turns out that this is a behavior that squirrels will never outgrow, often getting ready for a fight even when there is no real threat in sight.

Of course, adult Californian ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) are having thier fair share of real battles too. When these little furry fighters encounter a dangerous predator, such as local rattlesnakes, they often immediately get ready for action.

Often this "ready position" involves a suddenly rigid body and an erratically swishing tale to distract the predator's focus. Sometimes these squirrels will even start kicking sand at the snake just before they scramble away in a fuzzy grey-brown blur.

Interestingly, researchers have noticed that this display of readiness (video of it here) often occurs even when no threats are evident, and they wanted to know why. Were the squirrels just playing make-believe, or did they have a reason to be so paranoid?

In a study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: B, researcher Rulon Clark and his team at San Diego State University decided to see if unprompted tenseness and tail swishing helped them better react to surprise attacks.

The researchers startled several squirrels during field observation with simple cork poppers. They found that the corks typically sent calm squirrels scampering off. However, when the squirrels were startled in a region where they had recently seen a snake, they would immediately perform what experts call an "evasive leap" - a ninja-like jump that can help squirrels dodge even the 70-millisecond strike of a rattlesnake. You can see how much more effective this is in the video below:

[Credit: Rulon Clark / Clark Lab]

Clark and his colleagues believe the squirrels were even capable of this feat at the drop of a hat (or in this case, cork) because of their seemingly weary ready position.

In this way, if you're worried an area might be home to a snake, it may pay to look to the squirrels. Do they look ready to fight rocks, twigs, and even their own shadow? Then be assured a snake was seen there not long ago.

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