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The California ground squirrel seems innocent. A familiar sight to hikers, the plump rodent can often be seen contentedly chewing on grass, seeds and berries.
But according to recently published research, wildlife biologists have documented a fierce feature of the creature: It is a committed carnivore, hunting and feasting on unlucky little voles.
Like a rodent version of the notoriously violent 1969 film The Wild Bunch, extensive video footage recorded at the Briones Regional Park in the San Francisco Bay Area offers repeated evidence of the squirrels’ savagery.
Squirrels chase voles – small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters – then catch and pummel them until they’re a bloody pulp.
Like cats, the squirrels sometimes let the mortally wounded creature limp off. Then they pounce again. Even as the vole squirms, clinging to life, they take a bite.
It’s been known that California ground squirrels won’t pass up an easy meal of meat. Prior research found clues of ingested voles, as well as quail eggs, insects and shellfish.