Hawk vs rock squirrel: The Great Escape

We occasionally see tail-less rock squirrels and we always wonder what has happened to them. This video tells the story of one possibility. A young hawk hunting a rock squirrel isn't quite fast enough to catch her, but the rock squirrel's lack of a tail is evidence of at least one past encounter with a predator that wasn't quite so lucky.

#hawk #rocksquirrel #backyardwildlife #texaswildlife

[jeanieschmitz]

We have missed your videos and narration! So glad to see you are back!! 🐿️

[BirdSongsFromAroundTheWorld]

Amazing footage of the Hawk and rock squirrel. Happy to see your video after a long time 😊

[alp]

This is THE most underrated YouTube channel. Really interesting footage and stories

[ninapearman]

Admire the squirrel’s confidence cause that bird is so fierce looking, even I’m intimidated.

[camwinston]

Great footage...those are some lil buggers !

[beyondbirthday]

I keep seeing rock squirrels everywhere lately and they keep eating my hibiscus and lemon tree. They're kinda cute though. But anyways, so glad to see a new video from this channel, it always puts a smile on my face :) keep it up!

[maureenposhweddingflowers]

My husband has been whining about your absence for a month!! We were both so happy to see you post this video! How are you, and how are the fox kits?

[AmarisNWonderland]

I love rock squirrels! (and hawks)

We've had a grey squirrel with half of a tail living in the yard for about 6 years now. There is a white tip/puff/patch on the end where it got "cut."

We always wondered what caught it, but after seeing the local hawk dive through the trees the other day & now this video, I can guess what it was. We didn't think the feral cats were fast enough! 😅

We are always happy to see she's still around. 🐿 And I was happy to see this video!! Y'all get the best footage. 👏👏 Thank you for sharing with us 😊

[philipsgarage]

Amazing footage thanks for sharing. I’ve actually seen some around here without tails, I guess I know why now!

[nmeu]

So glad to see your videos! That's one lucky squirrelio

[WSFM_Rex]

Wow nice footage! Thanks for sharing 🔥

[georgesilverhawkstrailcame]

Very interesting, and excellent footage. Thank you very much...

[NewEnglandWildlife]

We don't have those squirrels up over here. They're pretty darn fast for sure.

[auwaauwa]

I don't think I've ever seen a hawk try to go down into a covered area to catch prey, I assumed they always used swooping tactics in one way or another

[KENDAandhisORB]

" If one don't have tail, then there is no fear to lose one. If one has a tail and be bold like this, than there is a chance to lose it. " Says the stone squirrel with no tail.

[tierliebe]

I love that the squirrel 😘 manages to escape if he had stayed inside the Falcon expected 🤔? I live in flatlands we don't have squirrels but I've seen them traveling and they are lovely. The hawk is not one of my favorite raptors.

[richardjones]

Maybe it's evolution. Our grey squirrels have large bushy tails that are used for balance in their aerial acrobatics, so maybe with a rock squirrel the tail is more of a liability and is disappearing.