Vole Engineers

A University of Exeter study found that Brandt's voles 'engineer' their immediate environment (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/11/mongolian-rodent-brandts-vole-trims-tall-grass-to-foil-predators-study-finds). Brandt's vole lives on the plains of Inner Mongolia. This rodent cuts down tall Bunchgrass, which it doesn't eat. This 'forestry' enables the vole to more effectively scan the sky for aerial predators. It also stops a common predator, the Shrike ('Butcher bird'), having perching locations nearby. The Shrike also cannot stock 'larders', on these grasses, with killed prey. Cunning things, these voles!