A University of Saskatchewan researcher is trying to understand why some squirrels go nuts stashing food, and others don’t.
Andrea Wishart travelled to the Yukon to learn about red-tailed squirrels’ behaviour around stockpiling food.
“Some squirrels are making the decision to get more food, where as other ones are dialing it back and not getting as many resourses. Why wouldn’t you get as much food as possible? So I’m looking at what’s driving those costs and benefits,” Wishart said.
A risk of predators, or other squirrels stealing food, could be why the animals stash less, according to the researcher.
Wishart has put Fitbit-type technology on the squirrels, tracking their movement to better understand when and why the animals go out for food.
She is also examining the size and composition of the animals to better understand caching behaviour, which she hopes can be transferred into other wildlife studies.
“It could really influence species at risk that are facing food shortages or disease, to understand how an individual’s body condition might actually limit its ability to go find food for itself,” the PhD student said.
Wishart plans on wrapping up her research in about two years.
