Ground squirrels use ‘armpit effect’

Ground squirrels use their own odors to reconstruct family relationships after hibernation.

SNOWBIRD, UTAH — Wake up and smell the armpit.

WHO ARE YOU? Spring is a time when ground squirrels emerge from hibernation and get reacquainted with their kin. Scent is the tool they use. A new study suggests how a ground squirrel knows who smells like kin and who doesn’t.