So, how does a squirrel remember where they place all their nuts?
They use, what is called a 'triangular positioning system'. TPS, instead of GPS.
They choose 3 points in the landscape, like shown on the picture
and bury their nuts in the center of the 3 points.
This is the most effective way to remember multiple locations, unless you have a GPS.
In average, squirrels will remember 75% of everything they stash.
The remaining 25% will grow up to new trees, flowers, bushes and crops.
Cause it's not only nuts they stash, but seeds too.
Did you know that the red squirrels
don't actually hide their food
in the ground for storage?
No, they actually bury the hardest shells
just beneath the surface of the dirt,
to soften the shells naturally.
If they bury it too deep, it will sprout,
too shallow and they'll get stolen.
They will often return to the same nuts
over and over again, to check
if the shell is ready for an easy meal.
They'll remember up to
750 nut locations, per season.
Of course, they could always just
crush the shell themselves but,
that costs precious amount energy
that they could be using elsewhere,
for housing, mating, playing
or chasing away rivals.
Softer foods like seeds or
already weakened shells, will be stored
in their main stash, usually
one of their backup dreys/nests.