Some Mammals May Use Specialized Hairs to Detect Predators’ Heat

When observed under a microscope, guard hairs from mice resemble optical sensors used in thermal cameras to detect heat, according to a new study.

Written byAmanda Heidt

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Two hair types from Mus musculus showing characteristic banding indicative of an infrared function. The small hairs are so-called zigzag hairs, and the large one is the widest part of a spear-shaped guard hair.

Image credit:R soc open sci, 8:210740, 2021.

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In addition to their acute senses of smell, hearing, and sight, small mammals may have an additional method for detecting predators: heat-sensing guard hairs capable of picking up the infrared radiation emitted by warm bodies, a study suggests. The new research, published last week (December 8) in Royal Society Open Science, builds on a body of unpublished evidence collected not by a biologist, but by a physicist, Ian Baker, who develops infrared sensors for a British defense company.

Baker has long brought his work home with him, he tells The New York Times, using infrared cameras containing his sensors to scan the fields and woods near his house in Southampton, England, for animals. for animals. A series of anecdotal observations—such as the fact that cats seem to “stack” their bodies behind their cold nose when hunting, along with a similar twisting behavior in swooping owls—led Baker to hypothesize that perhaps ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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