I could not resist the parallels drawn in this interesting article from Discovery “Squirrel Social Networks” article. The major difference between human and squirrel social networks is that people, as the conventional wisdom goes, appear to be “separated” by five or six degrees. For squirrels, it takes only three connections for one member of a population to get to any other.

They studied the interaction & social influencer nodes: Using the software, Manno tested what would happen to the squirrel network if individuals were removed. Random removals didn’t disrupt the network much, but if more than 10 percent of the colony’s important members were taken out, the network fragmented, leaving it vulnerable to collapse. (the percentage is far higher in online social networks)

“Importance” in a squirrel colony generally refers to “adult males that are putting out feelers for sex opportunities (like Mercedes) or…adult females that are experienced at mating and want to have their choice of a bunch of males,” he said.

The Squirrel Social Graph
This diagram shows the social networks formed by a group of squirrels studied by Auburn University researcher Theodore Manno. Most of the connections are between mating squirrels and their families.

Watch the squirrel social graph video. Enjoy. Which squirrel are you?

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