Engineering a Safer Ecosystem

A Brandt’s vole. Credit: Guoliang Li.

When it comes to the battle between tiny rodents known as Brandt’s voles and carnivorous birds called shrikes, the birds may seem to have all the advantages. Shrikes, or butcherbirds, are capable of killing small animals like mice and lizards with a paralysis-inducing beak pinch to the spinal cord followed by vigorous shaking to break the prey’s neck. But new research shows the voles can fight back—by making their habitat a safe space.

Read the story at my Animal Minds blog: Voles Trim Grass to Thwart Flying Predators.