Hunting behaviour in arvicoline rodents

Abstract

In laboratory experiments, purposeful predatory inter-relations with moving insects have been revealed and described in three species of herbivorous voles: the East European vole, the narrow-headed vole, and the Tuva silver vole. The appearance of the full hunting stereotype in these species does not require preliminary experience, which indicates its innate nature. The hunting behaviour of the Tuva silver vole differed from that of the East European vole and narrow-headed vole, which probably reflects the phylogenetic relationships between these species.