Kangaroo rats can avoid attacks using their extremely sensitive hearing and by drumming their feet on the ground to deter predators, says behavioral ecologist Rulon Clark of San Diego State University. “FAST AS LIGHTNING” A desert kangaroo rat fends off a rattlesnake with a powerful kick from its hind legs and leaps away, all within fractions of a second. When snakes lunged at the rodents, the rats twisted and contorted their bodies in midair to dodge fangs.