The California ground squirrel: like other members of this chattering animal class, they're adorable. Tiny, furry, cute, defenseless.
Defenseless? Not so fast. Actually they're packing heat.
University of California, Davis researchers used an infrared camera to film squirrels as they confronted predatory rattlesnakes.
The squirrels, they saw, actually heated up their tails, then waved them at the snakes. (YouTube here.) The rattlers, which rely on infrared sensors to detect their prey, were ostensibly confused by the animal equivalent of having a flaming torch waved in your face.
The lesson:
Squirrels wield a hot, secret weapon [New Scientist]
