Study Finds Fox Squirrels Flick Their Tails When Frustrated

Posted on May 27, 2016

UC Berkeley researchers have discovered that fox squirrels flick their tails when they are frustrated. The researchers say this is among the first studies of frustration in free-ranging animals.

Mikel Delgado, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley, says in a statement, "Our results demonstrate the universality of emotional responses across species. After all, what do you do when you put a dollar in a soda machine and don't get your soda? Curse and try different tactics."

The researchers trained campus fox squirrels on boxes containing delicious walnuts. After nine trials the researchers then turned the tables on the squirrels and observed the frustrated squirrels flicking their tails when the nuts could no longer be obtained because the boxes were either locked or empty. Take a look:

Delgado says, "Animals in nature likely face situations that are frustrating in that they cannot always predict what will happen. Their persistence and aggression could lead them to try new behaviors while keeping competitors away. While not a direct intelligence test, we think these findings demonstrate some of the key building blocks to problem-solving in animals – persistence, and trying multiple strategies."

A research paper on the study was published here in Journal of Comparative Psychology.



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