In the UK I’m used to seeing stories about how cunning squirrels manage to defeat every trick humans can come up with and succeed, yet again, in stealing food put out in gardens for birds. But squirrels are cunning in the wild as well, as this US story shows:

California ground squirrels and rock squirrels chew up rattlesnake skin and smear it on their fur to mask their scent from predators, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis.

Be wary of squirrels, they might be smarter than we are and are just lulling us into a false sense of security by their cute antics.