Food acquisition patterns of the three-striped palm squirrel are influenced by interactions: variation in foraging response across an urban-rural gradient

Urban Funambulus palmarum shows stronger approach to novelty and a stronger bias toward processed food than rural individuals, with these behaviors linked to squirrel density and dominance interactions.

• Why it matters: Urbanization reshapes accessible resources, but it is unclear how local squirrel abundance and social dominance at feeding sites jointly shape foraging decisions across an urban–rural gradient.
• What they did: In cafeteria experiments around Tirupati, India, the study tested rural versus urban squirrels for novelty response, food selection, and dominance interactions, using observed dominance and exploration patterns.
• The result: Higher urban squirrel density was associated with more transient dominance “despots” and increased exploration by non-dominants, whereas lower rural density corresponded to fewer dominance interactions and reduced exploration.

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