Merriam’s kangaroo rat avoiding Mojave rattlesnake strike

This video is from the first field season where we figured out how to use a high speed camera set up in the field to record details of interactions between kangaroo rats and rattlesnakes (see Higham et al 2017, https://www.nature.com/articles/srep4.... The clip shows a Merriam’s kangaroo rat reacting just quickly enough to avoid the strike of a Mojave rattlesnake. This is a different pair of species than the 2019 videos, which feature desert kangaroo rats and sidewinder rattlesnakes.  Desert kangaroo rats are larger and apparently more athletic than Merriam’s, and Mojave rattlesnakes are larger and have more neurotoxic venom than sidewinder rattlesnakes. Find more information at http://www.ninjarat.org, and email us with any questions at [email protected].

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• #rattlesnake
• #predator_prey_interactions
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