The sight of a small rodent with bulging cheeks full of nuts is a common image, often leading people to assume that all bushy-tailed foragers use this transport method. This raises the question of whether the familiar tree squirrel is physically equipped to stuff multiple acorns or peanuts into its face. The mechanism squirrels use to manage their winter stores is frequently misunderstood, as their anatomy and survival strategies differ significantly from their smaller, cheek-pouched relatives.
The Truth About Squirrel Anatomy
Common tree squirrels, such as the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), do not possess the specialized, expandable cheek pouches that cause this common misconception. A true cheek pouch, or buccal pouch, is a separate, muscular skin tube located between the cheek and the jaw. Animals like hamsters, chipmunks, and certain ground squirrels are equipped with these pockets, which function like internal shopping bags. The typical tree squirrel lacks this anatomical feature, meaning its mouth capacity is limited to the confines of its oral cavity. When a squirrel appears to have bulging cheeks, it is merely holding the food item, usually a large nut, temporarily within the front of its mouth, ready for transport.
How Squirrels Transport Food
Since the squirrel’s mouth is not a storage unit, it functions solely as a temporary carrier for a single, or sometimes two, large nuts. The animal must rely on its powerful jaw muscles to grip the food item securely during movement. This limits their ability to carry multiple items simultaneously, necessitating repeated trips between the food source and the caching location. The forepaws are crucial in the process, used not for transport but for manipulation. A squirrel uses its paws to orient, secure, and stabilize the nut in its mouth before beginning the journey.
The Real Food Storage Strategy
The purpose behind the squirrel’s short-distance transport is long-term survival through a strategy known as scatter hoarding. Unlike animals that create one large, central food pile (larder hoarding), tree squirrels bury individual nuts and seeds across their territory. This behavior ensures that the loss of one cache to a competitor or mold does not mean the loss of their entire winter food supply.
The Hoarding Process
The hoarding process involves the squirrel carrying the nut, digging a shallow hole with its forepaws, depositing the food, and then meticulously covering the spot with dirt, leaves, and debris. This covering, often involving a ritualistic patting motion, is essential for concealment. Squirrels are highly sophisticated in their retrieval, relying on impressive spatial memory to recall the locations of hundreds of individual caches, combined with their keen sense of smell. Research indicates they successfully retrieve between 40 to 80 percent of the food they bury. The nuts they forget often germinate, making scatter hoarding a significant contributor to forest regeneration.