Grasshopper mice—miniature rodents only about 15 centimeters long—have been found to be the only known animals besides wolves to howl at the Moon, according to the publication IFLScience.
Researchers note that these mice have an incredibly powerful voice: standing up on their hind legs and tilting their noses skyward, they emit a high-pitched sound in the 9–14 hertz range that can be heard up to 100 meters away. This howl often precedes a hunt and, according to scientists, may serve as a way to mark their territory.
Despite their modest size and weight of only 20–50 grams, grasshopper mice are voracious predators. Their diet primarily consists of grasshoppers, scorpions, and other arthropods. Furthermore, they are able to survive the bites of venomous scorpions by blocking the pain signal in their brains.
Scientists recognize three species of these animals: the northern, southern, and Mearns’ grasshopper mouse. The southern species inhabits the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern US and northern Mexico. They earned their Latin name, Onychomys (“clawed mouse”), thanks to their strong paws and claws, which allow them to hold onto prey.
Thus, these tiny rodents not only demonstrate unusual vocal abilities comparable to a wolf’s howl but also confirm their reputation as some of the most unusual and resilient predators in the world.
