SmallCaliberCentral

We saw something last month my hunting buddy and I have never seen in over 35 years of chuck hunting.
About 120 yards away a freshly killed chuck was being inspected by another chuck. Suddenly the one doing the inspecting started feasting on the dead one, and not just picking at it, but really going to town like it had not eaten any thing in months! There was a field full of alfalfa and grass next the rock pile so it was not like there was nothing around to eat either.
I filleted the one doing the eating with my Contender Super 14 in .223 while feeling like this was an anomaly of some sort, the result of in-breeding of the worst kind and I was doing the rock chuck world a favor. A little later in an adjacent rock pile we saw the same thing happening again with one chuck tearing away at another dead "tenderized" chuck.

Did we happen upon some sort of cannibal tribe of chucks or have any of you seen this strange behavior before?
Scott

It is common with all rodent family members. Ground squirrels, mice, rats, chipmonks, etc all will eat flesh, especially if it is fresh. Not at at all
unusual. Bill K

Don't know about chucks, but I do know first hand that skippy will definatly feast on his dead bretheran.

+1 on the above. We often get to shoot gray diggers as they are trying to drag prior victims back down their hole!

Turkey have been seen doing the same to a recently shot Tom. Strange behaviors in deed.

Whenever we come back the next day after blasting chucks, the remains are always gone. We just figured the magpies and 'yotes were appreciating the meals we left.

Still strange after all these years to not witness this before.
Scott

BEWARE the ZombieChucksters!!!

I have been hunting them since '91 and have never seen them eating or even looking at a dead one. I certainly do believe you, but have noticed live chucks never pay any attention to the dead ones. I have heard it said by others, but was always skeptical until you witnessed it. I have seen sage rats be cannibalistic many times. Thanks for sharing.

Lenard,
First time to witness this in all these years of hunting chucks shocked both of us seasoned hunters. Nature has a few surprises from time to time, eh?

Scott

In my experience, the Sciuridae family motto seems to be "Get the ketchup, they got Mom!"

jwc41 wrote:In my experience, the Sciuridae family motto seems to be "Get the ketchup, they got Mom!"

Isn't it interesting how some things are absolutely disgusting but they still make you laugh!

yes - after many kills and years of hunting chucks (rock chucks) I think that they either eat or dispose of the bodies of their fallen kind.

After a good shoot that has left numerous dead chucks on rocks, infront of dens, and bare edges of alfafa fields in several hours or the next dayallthe dead chucks are gone. Possibly coyotes ate them but no signs of coyotes were present.

Whatever made the dead chucks go away did not just nibble on them, they just went away.

Varmint Laser, I was doing some late season chuck hunting last sunday morning. I shot one off a rock and watched him fall. In the course of an hour +, I shot three more from my same location. I swear, each of the latter three had their heads in the same area as the fallen one. I thought of your post, but because of the grass, I could not see them actually chowing down on the carcass. But I suspect that might have been the case.

I have shot many chucks, when others from the den paid no attention to the dead ones.