AMHERST, Mass. — One gray squirrel, its bushy tail twitching, barked a warning as another scrounged for food nearby.
It was an ordinary spring day at Hampshire College, except the rodent issuing the warning was powered by amps, not acorns.
Dubbed “Rocky” after the cartoon character, the robo-squirrel is working its way into Hampshire’s live-squirrel clique, controlled by researchers several yards away with a laptop computer and binoculars.
Sarah Partan, an assistant professor in animal behavior at Hampshire, hopes that by capturing a close-up view of squirrels in nature, Rocky will help her team decode communication techniques, social cues and survival instincts.
Rocky is among many robotic critters worldwide helping researchers observe animals in their natural environments. The research could let scientists better understand how animals work in groups, court, intimidate rivals and warn allies of danger.
In Indiana, a fake lizard shows off its machismo as researchers assess which actions intimidate and which attract real lizards. Pheromone-soaked cockroach counterfeits in Brussels exert peer pressure on roaches to move out of protective darkness. In California, a camera inside a fake female sage grouse records details as it’s wooed, and more, by the breed’s promiscuous males.
The research might even help explain similar instinctive behaviors in humans, researchers say.
“Animals and humans are all affected by behaviors, body postures and signals from each other that we may not be aware of,” Partan said.
One recent afternoon, Partan and two students placed Rocky near real squirrels in a field. Mounted on a board, he was shielded by a camouflage hood, and a long cord connected him to the researchers’ laptop.
After the computer’s program flipped the hood, Rocky went into a sequence of tail-flagging, barking and other motions squirrels recognize as warnings of danger.
The researchers focus on whether squirrels react more strongly to Rocky’s noises or movements or a combination. Although animal behavior has been studied for years, much remains unknown about instinctive responses.
“Whether it’s a bunch of squirrels in a field or humans in a mall, there are general principles of behavior that seem to hold up across species lines,” said Greg Demas, director of Indiana University’s Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior and an associate professor of biology.
