Boing Boing: Squirrels heat up their tails to scare rattlesnakes

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Squirrels heat up their tails to scare rattlesnakes

New Scientist reports that squirrels have evolved an interesting defense against rattlesnakes -- tails that heat up.

The ground squirrel heats up its tail then waves it in the snake's face - a form of harassment that confuses the rattler, which has an infrared sensing organ for detecting small mammals.

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posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:31:46 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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