Florida's "Worm Grunters" Collect Bait Worms by Inadvertently Imitating Mole Sounds
Monday, October 13, 2008 - 20:35
in Biology & Nature
A Vanderbilt biologist has uncovered the secret of worm grunting - the practice in the Florida Panhandle of driving a stake into the ground and rubbing it with a long piece of steel to create vibrations that drive earthworms to the surface where they can be collected for bait. He has determined that the worm grunters are unknowingly imitating the sounds made by burrowing moles.