Science on the Farm for Kids

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Squirrels don’t dig up all their buried nuts, which results in more trees.

World Wildlife Federation

Squirrels can find food buried beneath a foot of snow, by using their sense of smell. The squirrel will then dig a tunnel under the snow, following the scent to its or another squirrel’s buried treasure.

World Wildlife Federation

Squirrels may lose 25 percent of their buried food to thieves. And that’s just from members of their own species. Scatter hoarders – squirrels with multiple caches of food – have a difficult time keeping an eye on all their hidden food. Fellow squirrels or birds often take advantage of that for a free meal.

World Wildlife Federation

Squirrels may pretend to bury a nut to throw off potential thieves. They’ve have been observed engaging in “deceptive caching” a squirrel digs a hole and vigorously covers it up again, but without depositing the nut. It seems it’s done to throw off potential food thieves.

World Wildlife Federation

Putting on some extra weight is one strategy squirrels use to stay warm during cold winter months.

World Wildlife Federation

Larry Scheckel For Agri-View

QUESTION: How do squirrels remember where they buried their acorns?

Larry Scheckel is the author of “Seneca Seasons: A Farm Boy Remembers.” He grew up on a family farm in the hill country of southwestern Wisconsin, one of nine children. His teaching career stretched to more than 38 years teaching physics and aerospace science to more than 4,000 high school students at Tomah, Wisconsin.