California
Related: About this forumBay Area squirrels are killing and decapitating en masse, study finds
At first, we questioned what was going on, Smith says. But seeing the videos was astounding and shifted my perspective on a species that I have spent the last 12 years of my life studying.
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https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/squirrels-predators-bay-area-park-19988436.php
I remember ground squirrel researchers speaking of similar behaviors fifty years ago, and I've witnessed these behaviors myself. Maybe it never made it to the formal literature.
Ground squirrels are not cute and cuddly. They are also reservoirs for fleas and the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis.
If they are killing voles it seems likely they are killing gophers too.
Initech
(102,502 posts)I will have lost all faith in the internet!
stopdiggin
(13,003 posts)now post punk (with a little whimsy) - just might get you there!
Sneederbunk
(15,389 posts)hlthe2b
(106,737 posts)So, no. I don't see them moving to Gophers.
Yes, ground squirrels in areas with plague circulating can be infected. But like the prairie dogs that are more likely to be the unfortunate vector (and which die off quickly) a healthy colony that has not had die-offs suggesting plague circulating in recent years, is not a threat (or an excuse to exterminate). The same goes for ground squirrels in the absence of confirmed plague. Die-offs of ground squirrels, like wild rabbits are far more likely to be the result of cyclical Tularemia.
Let the wild be wild and live and let live...and only well-trained rehab personnel or veterinarians with wildlife experience handle these animals. They are not meant to be pets.
2naSalit
(93,420 posts)That live around here are cannibals. If there's a dead one on the road, it's 50/50 as to whether a raptor os another squirrel will eat it first. Nasty little buggers, even if they do look kind of cute for the first 30 seconds.