Southern Grasshopper mouse: The tiny super-predator that howls at the moon before it kills
Southern Grasshopper mouse: The tiny super-predator that howls at the moon before it kills
The southern grasshopper mouse is largely immune to the venom of the Arizona bark scorpion and will resort to cannibalism when times are tough.
One of its favorite prey is the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus) — whose venom is potent enough to kill humans.
To get around this, the southern grasshopper mouse reduces the venom's effects by shutting down the chemical channel that transmits the pain signal to the brain when that particular venom is present. This means they are essentially numb to the pain — although researchers still don't know why the toxin isn't lethal to them.
Anyone curious about how their howl sounds: video
That's the most adorable howl I've ever heard.
Like a little dog whistle.
You called??
Account is 10 months old. Certified beetlejuicing moment.
The account owner was patiently lying in wait for this moment
while members of this species can live in male-female pairs, this often ends in one killing the other
