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According to a new study at the University of California, squirrels use "snake perfume" to fool it's snake predators. The video stills above show a ground squirrel chewing on a rattlesnake's shed skin and then licking its body to apply the masticated mush. The said act persuades snakes that another snake is in the area and not a squirrel. This behavior is part of a host of tricks the squirrels have evolved to use to avoid predation.

"To our knowledge this is the first case where [this idea] has been tested systematically and shown to have an anti-predator function—protecting the squirrel from rattlesnake predation," said study lead author Barbara Clucas.

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