Videos: Ninja rats face a rattlesnake – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

A group of researchers from two universities in California, USA, discovered the large capacity of so-called kangaroo rats ("Dipodomys deserti") to flee one of their most ferocious predators: the rattlesnakes ("Crotalus"). cerastes "). .

In two studies published this week in the Linnaean Society's Functional Ecology and Biological Journal, experts videotaped the rivalry between the two species in their quest to find food and survive, and noted that less than half of ambushes strained to reptiles these rodents have succeeded.

By badyzing the images obtained in slow motion, they discovered the amazing ability of rats to dodge and counter attacks of this mortal and fast enemy.

The audiovisual material filmed at night in the Yuma desert (Arizona) revealed the incredible reaction speed of these small mammals. Even if a rattle can reach its prey in less than 100 milliseconds – less than a wink – rats can react to their predator by 38 milliseconds. They can jump high and escape with acrobatic skill and at full speed like real ninjas.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that the developed hind legs of these specimens can be used as an effective weapon: even when bitten, they are able to use these extremities to strike the air and to return the reptile.

Timothy Higham, of the University of California at Riverside and co-author of the research, explains that the exceptional hearing and powerful hind legs of the kangaroo rats were the product of evolution, a response to the speed of predators such as rattlesnake and owl. .

"The rattlesnakes and the kangaroo rats are both extreme athletes, whose maximum performance occurs during these interactions. This makes the system [de cámara de alta velocidad] to be excellent at highlighting the factors that could tip the scales in this battle, "says Higham.