Monday, May 2, 2016

Kangaroo rat and Rattlesnake


Kangaroo rats are rodents that usually live in desert areas and are native to western North America. They honor their name having big hind legs and small front legs, which allows them to jump really quickly. On the other hand, one of the most deadly predators for this animal is the rattlesnake.

Therefore, to prove the statement " Kangaroo rats who hear the sound of a rattlesnake can avoid the rattlesnake bite by jumping backwards.", I will put 2 different kangaroo rats in separated rooms. 

The first one will be exposed only to the sound of a simulated rattlesnake hiss, there I can see the rat's reaction and whether it jumps backwards even if it doesn't really see the snake or not. For the second one I will bring a real snake but from a different type and with a different hiss. This will allow me to observe if the animal acts as quickly and natural as with the rattlesnake, inferring if the jumping is a innate response to danger or  instead, a learned behavior toward an specific predator.

Depending on the Kangaroo rat's behavior the results of this experiments can variate from: 


to:

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