California ground squirrels hunt, kill and eat voles, reveals a study by UC Davis and UW-Eau Claire, sharing the first evidence of widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels.
Gray squirrels in my area will raid bird nests to feed on the eggs and young chicks. They also hunt and eat cicadas. They sometimes scavenge from animal carcasses and are known to gnaw on mammal bones (like from a dead deer) or even turtle shells for the calcium.
Chipmunks will catch and eat crickets, worms, and beetles as well as small reptiles or even frogs. Although I’ve not witnessed it, I bet they’d at least gnaw on animal bones for calcium.
However, I think hunting voles is kind of a bit more advanced / unique.
What makes the vole hunting remarkable is that these California ground squirrels developed a coordinated stalking technique - they actually track voles by scent and use ambush tactics similar to cats, which is extrmely unusual for rodents!
Gray squirrels in my area will raid bird nests to feed on the eggs and young chicks. They also hunt and eat cicadas. They sometimes scavenge from animal carcasses and are known to gnaw on mammal bones (like from a dead deer) or even turtle shells for the calcium.
Chipmunks will catch and eat crickets, worms, and beetles as well as small reptiles or even frogs. Although I’ve not witnessed it, I bet they’d at least gnaw on animal bones for calcium.
However, I think hunting voles is kind of a bit more advanced / unique.
What makes the vole hunting remarkable is that these California ground squirrels developed a coordinated stalking technique - they actually track voles by scent and use ambush tactics similar to cats, which is extrmely unusual for rodents!
Same. I’ve seen grey squirrels eat cicadas and lizards on occasion, although they seem to prefer nuts.