Squirrels are known to find nuts easily, hide them quickly, return for more and they never seem to forget their hiding places. When a squirrel rotates a nut between its front paws, they are considering a range of factors to reach the answer to a series of question: eat it now or bury it for later? Their behaviors are far more intricate than we realize as the animal consider several options when deciding to eat or to stash it for later. They evaluate the physical characteristics of a nut, such as its shelf life (expiry date) and dietary importance. They also contemplate the accessibility of other nuts at that time of the year and if they know if there are any other squirrels in the area. Rotating a nut around in their feet helps numerous purposes. It helps determine the quality of the nut and see if there are any imperfections in the shell. Flaws usually point to the nut being more vulnerable to rot and if they want to eat it right there what are the best entry points for breaking into the shell. Handling the nut also helps determine how to carry the nut based on the shape and weight. In the spring squirrels take more care in handling the nuts before they bury them, perhaps because the nuts may still be scarce before summer’s harvest.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/squirrels-nuts-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-squirrels-are-nuts-about-nuts-1.23261742
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner tsawwassen Delta B.C. randy Bilesky