Squirrels are a common sight, often observed in a frenzy of activity as cooler months approach. This behavior is driven by an innate need to store food for the coming scarcity, as these animals are not true hibernators. Instead of sleeping through the cold, squirrels rely on cached food supplies to sustain their energy during periods when foraging is difficult or impossible. The specific location where a squirrel stores its winter food depends heavily on its species and the storage method it employs.
The Two Main Food Storage Strategies
Squirrels employ two strategies for food caching, which dictate the location of their winter supplies. The first is scatter hoarding, a method involving the creation of hundreds or even thousands of small, individual stashes across a wide area. This tactic is beneficial because it reduces the risk of total loss; if one cache is discovered by a competitor, the squirrel still retains many others.
The second method is larder hoarding, where the animal concentrates all collected food into one or two large, central stockpiles. This approach is easier to defend and allows for convenient access when the squirrel is ready to feed. Species like the Eastern Gray Squirrel are scatter hoarders, while the American Red Squirrel typically prefers larder hoarding. The difference in these strategies leads to vastly different storage locations.
Scatter Hoarding: Individual Cache Locations
Scatter hoarding species, such as the Eastern Gray Squirrel, hide their food in numerous, highly dispersed locations, often storing only a single nut or seed in each spot. The most commonly observed location is a shallow hole dug into the ground, usually just deep enough to cover the item with soil and leaf litter. Before burying the item, a squirrel may lick the nut, which some researchers suggest leaves an olfactory signpost to help with later retrieval.
Caches are not limited to the ground; they may also be tucked into crevices in tree bark, beneath loose shingles on a roof, or wedged into tree cavities. When burying a nut, a squirrel often pats the soil down with its paws. They sometimes perform a deceptive caching action by pretending to bury an item to mislead potential thieves.
Larder Hoarding: Centralized Stockpiles
Squirrels that practice larder hoarding create a single, large, well-defended pantry for their winter reserves. For the American Red Squirrel, this centralized stockpile is often located inside a tree cavity or within a sheltered burrow.
These tree squirrels are well-known for creating large, distinct caches called “middens,” which are typically found at the base of a tree or under a log.
A midden can contain thousands of conifer cones or nuts and is often kept in a damp, shaded area. This helps keep the cone scales closed, preserving the seeds inside until they are needed. Other larder hoarders may use the interior of a den or drey as their main storage site.
Retrieving the Hidden Winter Supply
The successful recovery of stored food relies on cognitive abilities and senses. Squirrels primarily use spatial memory to navigate back to the general area where they hid their supplies, creating an internal cognitive map of their territory. They remember the locations of their caches in relation to fixed landmarks, such as specific trees, rocks, or fence posts.
Once in the vicinity, the squirrel uses its sense of smell to pinpoint the exact location of the buried item, especially when the ground is covered by snow or frost. While they are adept at finding their caches, they do not recover every single item. The nuts and seeds that remain buried are able to germinate, making the scatter-hoarding squirrel an unintentional planter that helps to regenerate forests.