Pecans are a highly concentrated food source, making them extremely appealing to local wildlife. Their exceptional nutritional profile, composed of approximately 72% fat and 9% protein, provides a substantial energy boost. This high caloric value makes pecans a seasonally appealing resource for many species preparing for colder months or breeding seasons.
Mammals That Consume Pecans
Mammals are the most noticeable consumers of pecans, targeting the nuts for both immediate consumption and long-term storage. Squirrels, including gray and fox species, are the most prominent culprits, often gathering nuts before they are fully ripe. These rodents cache pecans by burying them across a wide area to ensure a food supply throughout the winter.
Raccoons are also significant pecan consumers, using their dexterous front paws to handle and crack open the shells. These opportunistic omnivores are nocturnal, meaning their damage often occurs under the cover of darkness, leaving behind scattered shell fragments. Smaller rodents, such as mice and rats, gnaw into the shell to access the kernel. These animals typically do not carry the nuts far from where they were found.
Larger animals also participate in the pecan harvest. White-tailed deer readily consume fallen pecans, often eating the nuts whole, shell and all, thanks to their strong molars. Wild hogs use their powerful jaws to crack the hard shells and can consume large quantities when pecans are abundant on the ground.
Birds That Target Pecan Crops
Avian species exploit the nutritional richness of pecans, employing unique methods to bypass the hard shell. Blue Jays are known for caching habits, carrying pecans away in their beaks to hide in tree crevices or shallow ground caches for later retrieval. They tend to prefer smaller, native pecan varieties over larger cultivated nuts.
Crows are intelligent birds that use environmental tools to access the nutmeat. They pick up a pecan and drop it onto a hard surface, such as a road or rock, to break the shell open. Once cracked, the crow uses its strong beak to consume the kernel, often leaving behind only small shell fragments.
Certain woodpecker species, including the Red-bellied and Red-headed woodpeckers, also feed on pecans. These birds wedge a nut into a piece of bark or a wooden structure to hold it steady. Once secured, the bird uses its beak like a chisel to drill a precise hole through the shell to extract the kernel.
Identifying the Culprit by Feeding Evidence
The physical evidence left behind on a discarded shell helps identify the animal responsible for the consumption. When a squirrel feeds on a pecan, the shell typically exhibits a jagged, irregularly chipped or shredded entrance hole. The shell fragments are often rough, and the animal generally leaves less than half of the shell intact.
In contrast, damage caused by smaller rodents, such as mice, is characterized by a clean, precise, circular hole gnawed into the side of the shell. This hole is just large enough for the mouse to remove the kernel, leaving small gnaw marks around the entry point. If a pecan is missing entirely, the culprit is likely a caching animal, such as a squirrel or a Blue Jay, that carried the whole nut away.
Bird damage is distinguished by the absence of gnaw marks, instead showing characteristic beak indention marks or irregularly cracked holes. Crows and jays often create a large, irregularly cracked opening by striking the shell with their beaks. Woodpeckers create a deep, narrow hole by drilling into the shell to access the meat.