Autumn is the time when squirrels start to hide their nuts and
seeds. Squirrels hide them to eat over the winter months, when
there isn't much food around. This is called
hoarding.
Squirrels hide their food in lots of different places over a
large area. Do you think you could hide food in lots of places and
remember where you'd put all of it? Try this!
What you need:
- 50 sweets or other small food items
- A house to hide the food!
How to:
- On a morning, hide the sweets in different places around the
house.
- Go to school or play outside for a few hours.
- When you get back to the house, try to find all the sweets
again. How many can you find?
0-15 Squeak! If you were a squirrel, you
wouldn't survive the winter.
15-30 Nuts! You nearly made it, but you might
not have found enough food to survive the winter and mate in
spring. Squirrels need lots of energy to survive.
30-40 You've survived! Squirrels find between
60-80% of the food they hide.
40-50 Well done! You've beaten the
squirrel.
Squirrels need to hide food to make sure they have enough to eat
over the cold winter months. Squirrels can find between 60-80% of
the food they hide even five months later. This food is hidden over
a large area. Squirrels have very good memories!
Who's nicked my nuts?!
Try the same thing again with a friend watching where you hide
the sweets. When you get back to the house, both of you look for
the sweets. Who finds the most?
Some squirrels watch other squirrels hiding nuts. These sneaky
squirrels then go and steal the nuts from the store and hide them
somewhere else!