An Odd Squirrel

Animals have a variety of methods to avoid predators – octopi release ink into the water to hinder pursuit, hedgehogs can roll into a spiky ball, some lizards can drop their tails to confuse pursuers. But Mother Nature has a weird sense of humor – evolution can create some strange animals. One of these strange animals is the Jansen’s Squirrel.

Discovered in 1980 in northern China, the Jansen’s Squirrel is named after Emil Jansen, the Norwegian biologist who discovered them. Measuring approximately 10 inches and weighing between 2-3 pounds, the Jansen’s Squirrel has white fur to blend in with its snowy surroundings. But the fur is more than just camouflage – due to its thickness and the extreme cold of its habitat, the fur of the Jansen’s Squirrel is capable of generating up to a 15 milliamp charge. This electric charge isn’t much, but it’s enough to momentarily stun a juvenile Siberian tiger (the natural predator of the Jansen’s Squirrel, among other animals.) Of course, as Siberian tigers have become a very endangered species over the last 30 years, the Jansen’s Squirrel population was in danger of growing larger than its habitat could support. Fortunately (depending on your point of view), Northern Hawk Owls have been migrating into the area; since they are airborne predators they aren’t affected by the electrical discharge. This shift of predators in the predator-prey relationship is a dual-edged sword, however – the Jansen’s Squirrel is now in danger of being hunted to extinction by the Hawk Owl. Whether the Chinese government will listen to the recommendations of their biologists to find ways to preserve the Jansen’s Squirrel population remains to be seen.

As an interesting aside, the popular animated character Pikachu is based on the Jansen’s Squirrel – Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokemon, encountered the Jansen’s Squirrel on a trip to northern China in 1993.