10 lucky escapes
Rite of passage
In the Sonoran desert, two Harris’s antelope squirrel juveniles test their survival skills by repeatedly prodding each other to approach closer and closer to a coiled western diamond-backed rattlesnake until both are well within a striking distance. When the snake finally strikes, the squirrels jump, tucking their feet away, relying on the height of their jump to avoid certain death.
They then wait for the snake to coil up again before starting all over. The ritual, evidently, is an important learning step for local squirrels as all juveniles engage in it during late summer months, notwithstanding an occasional casualty.
