Red fox diving into the snow to catch prey
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Some foxes can dive headfirst into snow without causing harm, and we now know how the shape of their skulls is adapted to this technique.
In colder climates, where small rodents live deep beneath the snow, red foxes (Vulpes Vulpes Vulpes) and arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) has a special hunting technique known as mouse. They use their strong sense of hearing to pinpoint the location of their prey, then jump into the air and dive face-first into large piles of snow at speeds of up to 4 meters per second, catching their prey by surprise.
“This is a very interesting and unique behavior,” he says. Jung Sung-hwan At Cornell University in New York. “Not all foxes do that.”
To learn more about why red and arctic foxes are so adept at snow diving, Jung et al. scanned.
Their analysis found that felines tend to have broader and shorter snouts compared to foxes. This creates a stronger bite, which is more beneficial for felines, which typically hunt alone, Jung said.
Foxes, on the other hand, which hunt in packs, had much longer and more pointed skulls. This leads to a weak bite. The red fox and the arctic fox have similarly narrow muzzles that are slightly longer than other foxes.
The researchers dropped a 3D-printed model of a regular arctic fox skull and a flattened version of the skull into snow from a height of 50 centimeters.
“What we found is that a sharper nose compresses the snow less, reducing the impact,” Jung says. This reduces the risk of injury. Its longer, pointier snout gently pushes the snow aside, as if it were liquid, he said. “Such an elongated shape helps foxes dive safely into the snow so they can focus on hunting.”
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Source: www.newscientist.com
