Witty Squirrels Practice Tactical Deception

Squirrels may bury and re-bury their food up to 5 times, in an attempt to throw off their competition — who may be watching where the squirrel is digging. Sometimes a squirrel will even fake burying a nut, and then cover over the hole as it holds the nut in its mouth.

According to an article in the NY Times, a recent report in the journal Animal Behaviour showed that…

when squirrels are certain that they are being watched, they will actively seek to deceive the would-be thieves. They’ll dig a hole, pretend to push an acorn in, and then cover it over, all the while keeping the prized seed hidden in their mouth. “Deceptive caching involves some pretty serious decision making,” Dr. Steele said. “It meets the criteria of tactical deception, which previously was thought to only occur in primates.”

Smart!

NY Times illustration by Serge Bloch