Animal Behavior 11e Video 1.2: A California ground squirrel interacting with a rattlesnake

An infrared imaging video camera was used to film this California ground squirrel interacting with a rattlesnake. This clip illustrates typical snake-directed antipredator behavior, such as tail flagging and elongate posturing. Note the tail region of the squirrel, which is considerably warmer than the background temperature (after Rundus et al. 2007).



Video titled: Animal Behavior 11e Video 1.2: A California ground squirrel interacting with a rattlesnake

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Source: Aaron S. Rundus, Donald H. Owings, Sanjay S. Joshi, Erin Chinn and Nicolas Giannini. Ground squirrels use an infrared signal to deter rattlesnake predation. PNAS September 4, 2007. 104 (36) 14372-14376; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702599104. © 2007 National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.

Textbook Reference: The Adaptive Basis of Behavior: Mobbing in Gulls, p. 21

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