Enrique Gili is a freelance writer covering Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), issues for regional magazines in the Southland and beyond. I live in Ocean Beach, San Diego the coolest beach town around.
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Category: Environment
Posted on: August 15, 2007 11:58 AM, by EJGili
When it comes to looking like the biggest, meanest squirrel mom around, California ground squirrels have a special weapon in their arsenal: hot tails.
Squirrels heat their tails an extra 3 degrees when trying to chase off rattlesnakes, which perceive infrared, UC Davis researchers have discovered. Indicating they can tell one snake species from another, the squirrels don't apply the same heat for gopher snakes, which don't have thermal sensors. ( Sacramento Bee)
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Comments
As seen in Science News in 2004. "Hot bother: Ground squirrels taunt in infrared" 6/26/04, subscription wall. As I've said before (in 2004 in fact, and also in Afarensis' comments yesterday) what I think is really neat is the fact that it doesn't heat up for the Gopher snake. I can see how evolution would select for a warm tail when confronted with a snake, but how amazingly subtle it is to select for a cool tail for Gopher snakes. The only thing I can see for it to work on is the slight energy savings. That must be enough, or does someone have a better idea? I'd love to know if I'm wrong, since I've been pulling this one out every chance I get for the last three years. rb
Posted by: arby | August 15, 2007 07:53 PM