Abstract:
Many mammalian species that interact with venomous snakes show resistances to
venoms. The family Sciuridae has several North American members that harass venomous
snakes and show proteolytic resistances in their sera. We examined sera collected from an
African ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) against two sympatric venomous snakes (Bitis
arietans and Naja annulifera) and found no support for proteolytic resistance. Our results
add to our understanding of the risks in predator defense within the family Sciuridae.
