The latest issue for scientists is based around the way foxes hunt. Since “chryptochrome” has been found in their DNA, and it is believed to allow them to locate the earth’s magnetic field. This protein had been thought to be only found in birds and bats, but now some mammals including foxes have it as well. After watching the way in which a fox hunts in the snow, it was seen that once aligned with the magnetic field, the amount of prey caught went up a great deal.
Foxes seem to share this ability with bears, badgers and wolves, although cats hunt in an entirely different way according to the company carrying out the research, IFL Science. The results so far lead scientists to believe that there are many other creatures that are equipped with magnetoreceptors than had been conserved in the past.
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It is due to the fact that it was always thought that foxes hunted by using their hearing and while this is the case to a point, it is not the entire tale. Moving through the snow, the fox moves its ears to enable it to hear the prey below the snow. As soon as it is found, the magnetic field is sought, and once the ears have matched the field, the animal can locate the prey.
It seems strange that there are still things we do not know about the lives of animals we share the planet with and there is clearly a lot more to find out.
Scientific paper of the Research
