Sidewinders as Predators and Kangaroo Rats as Preys

choi

James Gorman, Kangaroo Rats Outjump Rattlestakes. New York Times, Oct 17, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/ ... e-rattlesnakes.html

Quote:

"The [kangaroo] rat has sensitive ears, strong legs and big feet, the better to hear a predator and leap in the air or kick sand in its attacker’s face. The snake has venom and a speedy strike.

"In one recent study in a Southern California desert, rats overwhelmingly defeat snakes, escaping in all of 23 recorded attacks during 40 encounters. * * * Only once did a snake manage to sink its fangs in a rat deep enough to inject venom, and it wasn't enough to stop the rat from getting away and recovering. * * * In the 13 encounters when rats strutted their stuff in front of sidewinders, the snakes did not attack. [That makes 49 encounters.]

Note:
(a) The "recent study" is
Whitford MD et al, Avoiding the Serpent's Tooth: Predator–Prey Interactions Between Free-Ranging Sidewinder Rattlesnakes and Desert Kangaroo Rats. Animal Behaviour, 130: 73-78 (August 2017).
(b) kangaroo rat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_rat
(c) sidewinder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidewinder

refers to two species: one in southwestern US and the other in southwestern Africa. Both advance in a similar manner.

(d) An earlier report
Higham TE et al, Rattlesnakes Are Extremely Fast and Variable When Striking at Kangaroo Rats in Nature: Three-Dimensional High-Speed Kinematics at Night.Scientific Reports, _: _ )online publication Jan 13, 2017).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5234031/

supplies links to two misses:
(i) High-Speed - Mohave Rattlesnake Strike Missing a Kangaroo Rat. YouTube.com, published by "Higham Lab" on Jan 12, 2017.
https://youtu.be/PBEp2LtQwZ8
and (ii) High Speed Video of Kangaroo Rat Avoiding Rattlesnake Strike. YouTube.com, published by Rulon Clark on Jan 12, 2017.
https://youtu.be/jCxvIk8wS_8

(e)
(i) Mojave
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave(or Mohave)
(ii) Mojave Desert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Desert
(including Death Valley; the smallest of the North American deserts;

Quote: "The spelling Mojave originates from the Spanish language while the spelling Mohave comes from modern English. Both are used today, although the Mojave Tribal Nation officially uses the spelling Mojave; the word is a shortened form of Hamakhaave, their endonym in their native language, which means 'beside the water.'

(f) More footages from the Whitford team. Latest first.
(i) Highspeed Recording of Desert Kangaroo Rat Avoiding Sidewinder Strike. YouTube.com, published by Rulon Clark on July 28, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeesFjACFJo
("The force of the kangaroo rat's jump essentially pushes the snake's body out of the way, preventing it from embedding fangs and injecting venom")
(ii) Jump Back Display of Desert Kangaroo Rat to Sidewinder Rattlesnake. YouTube.com, published by Rulon Clark on Jul 28, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc-qc6wfRKs
(iii) Anti-Snake Behavior of Desert Kangaroo Rat. YouTube.com, published by Rulon Clark on Jul 28, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLfy-M9NWbI
(king sand and footdrumming, several times each)
(iv) Desert Kangaroo Rat Avoids Rattlesnake Strike with Evasive Maneuver. YouTube.com, published by Rulon Clark on Feb 9, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUyhnAJwxVk
(v) Desert Kangaroo Rat Footdrumming at Sidewinder Rattlesnake. YouTube.com, Published by Rulon Clark on Nov 30, 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th-TqONTy5s
(rat kicking sand at 1:00 1:12, footdrumming soon after 1:00 for a while)