WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Squirrel Nuts 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:06.440 Here there, Hi, there, ho there, and welcome to these 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:09.000 short stuff. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck, and I'm Josh 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.280 and there's Chuck, and Chuck's here and I'm Josh. And 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.880 let's go because we're talking about squirrels. So zip zip zai. 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.280 Uh yeah, this is, you know, a continuant continuation of 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.480 our squirrel talk. Um, we've never done one on squirrels, 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:26.160 but I know a couple of years ago you talked 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:29.560 about the squirrel being your foe, and then you had 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:33.879 since turned to love and embrace squirrels. The squirrel. I 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.239 had a squirrel attack me, which you can see on 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:43.400 my video doorbell. If you go to Instagram Chuck the 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:46.720 Podcaster at Chuck the Podcaster, you can see my squirrel 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.120 attack that where the squirrel ran up my leg. And 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.440 now we're going to talk about something I thought was 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:57.400 pretty interesting, which is squirrels and the notion of them 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:02.000 gathering nuts and things for the wind and hiding them. Okay, wow, 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:08.720 heck of an intro, Chuck. That's it for short stuff, everybody. Um, yeah, 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:12.440 so I have heard about these studies before, hadn't you? Like? 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.560 This isn't news to me? It was news to me, okay, 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.480 so what we're talking about. It turns out that um 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.639 squirrels that live in trees called tree squirrels. They're different 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.240 from ground squirrels, and one big thing that differentiates them, 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.760 aside from where they nest or den either on the 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:31.440 ground or in a tree, is that tree squirrels typically 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.000 don't hibernate, which is cool because then that means you 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.679 can see squirrels year round. But it's rough for the 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.160 squirrels because then that means that they have to sustain 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:44.120 themselves nutritionally throughout the year, which can get kind of 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.440 hard in the winter months, which is why everybody, squirrels, 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:53.000 especially tree squirrels, tend to stow food. They gather food 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.880 during the fall to last them through the winter. That's right. 0:01:56.960 --> 0:02:01.960 And it's also why this time of years, especially in Atlanta, 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.280 uh a k. A city of ten million squirrels, it 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:10.560 seems like they are everywhere this time of year. Um 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.160 nuts are falling on the ground, little acorns are falling 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.880 on the ground, and squirrels are very, very busy, and 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.240 it it's sort of you kind of take the squirrel 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.360 for granted because they're everywhere. But occasionally I will be 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:26.160 driving around, and I will just sort of laugh to 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:30.120 myself about the fact that in my perb, in my view, 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:34.760 let's say, walking or driving, I see like ten wild 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:39.160 animals just running around in the middle of a city. Yeah, 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.600 they're everywhere. They are. Well, you know, Georgia and Atlanta 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:46.200 in particular is a particularly wooded metropolous, so it makes 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:48.040 sense that they be everywhere in Atlanta. I think if 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:56.279 you went to like Kansas City, you'd be sorely disappointed. Metropolis. Okay, 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:59.160 I'm trying not some new ways of same things. I 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.840 love it. I hope that fire. Thank you, thank you 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:07.399 so um With these uh, with these squirrels when they're 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:09.560 storing stuff for the winter, and when they're gathering all 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.240 this stuff, um, what are they eating. Well, they're eating 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.600 what's called mast, which is one of my favorite words. 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.959 It's also called tree fruit, things like acorns, basically any 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.440 nuts that grow on trees. They also, I didn't know 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:24.160 this chuck apparently also will eat baby birds while they're 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.519 in their nest. Nest Like, yeah, I didn't know that. 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:28.880 That was disappointing to hear. It's a little rough. But 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.079 there's one other thing you need to know about squirrels. 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.520 It's pretty amazing when they jump off of a tree 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.600 and land on the ground. If you take a snapshot 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:42.000 photo of them landing, they land like they're superheroes in 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:45.000 like a three point stance with their they're one of 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.320 their arms bawled into a fist and pulled up by 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.080 their side like they should have a cape and a 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.520 mask on. Basically, it's it's pretty amazing. I think we 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:54.600 might have mentioned that in another episode, but it is. 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.760 It is worth looking up on the internet for sure. Ye. So, um, 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.160 when they're they're gathering nuts while they're wearing their little 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.280 cape or their mask, and as you know, um fall comes, 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:05.920 they really have to step it up because they want 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:07.800 to they want to gather it for winter. But the 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.600 thing is is when they gather this stuff, they don't 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.400 actually gather it and store it in their nest or 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.840 in their den because there's not enough room. And this 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:21.360 actually finally, Chuck, Finally, several minutes in four plus minutes 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.360 in we get to the point of this short stuff. 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.440 I think we should take a break off. That's the 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:30.600 best cliffhanger we've ever had. Are you kidding me? All right, 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:32.520 all right, let's take a break, and we're going to 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:55.279 talk about what happens from this point forward. Right after this. Alright, 0:04:55.320 --> 0:05:01.200 superhero squirrels Winter is coming, Game of Throne style. Uh, 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.520 they know they got to hoard those nuts. They're also 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.000 eaten nuts. Yeah, they've got to you know, sustain themselves 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.599 along the way, so they will eat stuff that they find. 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:11.880 But they also bury their stuff. That's what they do. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.320 They don't actually have like a pantry or an area 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:17.720 of their den or nest where they're storing the nuts. 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.440 They store them in an area around their tree usually 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:24.200 or where their nest or den is. But apparently Chuck, 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.279 they'll they'll expand out like to seven a seven acre 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:32.400 radius around that tree too. Yeah, they can. Um they're 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:36.240 called scatter hoarders. And I think generally they like to 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.680 kind of stick close to home, but if forced to 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.359 for whatever reason, they will expand, like you said, up 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:47.200 to seven acres away from their tree. And uh, I think, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.440 you know, Chippendale did a lot of disservices. I don't 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:51.800 know if chipmunks are the same, but all you can 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.000 picture because of those Chippendale and Alvin and the gang, 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.039 well I guess Alvin and then all they did was 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:01.039 performed concerts. But all you can think about with chip 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:03.120 Chip and Dale's and running up and like stuffing a 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:06.120 tree hole full of nuts with a winter So that's 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.120 kind of what you figure happens. But they don't. They 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.320 They they know other squirrels are gonna be watching out, 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.800 so and then you know, can combine and steal their 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:20.040 their uh sack of nuts that is buried. So they 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.520 bury them it's called caching about an inch underground and 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:26.320 cover them up again. They'll even crack open nuts sometimes 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:30.400 to keep them from German eating. And here was there's 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.280 two really great parts here to the end of this one. 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:36.159 The first one really gets me was in two thousand 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.440 eight they did a study that found that Eastern gray 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:43.719 squirrels have deceptive caching. So they know other squirrels are watching, 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.720 so they will literally go dig a little hole and 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.160 go all right, I'm just gonna put this acorn right 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.640 in here, stuff it in their mouth real quick, cover 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:55.920 up the hole, and then run off and be like, 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:58.520 all right, I've just left that acorn buried over there, 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.719 nothing nothing, just you here. Isn't that amazing? It is 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.680 pretty amazing. I love that too, that that they they're 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:09.240 just play. Yeah, that's another way to put it. Um. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:11.680 The other thing that they do as far as burying 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:16.400 this stuff um is that they will will put them 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:21.040 in areas where they're at risk to um go dig 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.000 them up, like at risk of predation, kind of out 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:26.240 in the open, far enough away from their tree where 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.840 they're kind of it's just getting increasingly risky to to 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:33.880 to go retrieve that nut. But that they'll put high 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:36.600 value nuts there. And we'll talk about how how squirrels 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.080 short nuts in a second, but they put high value 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.680 nuts are because if it's risky for them, it's just 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.920 as risky for another squirrel who's nut who who it 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.920 doesn't belong to, And so that might cut down on 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:51.200 another squirrel coming along and pilfering their they're buried nuts. 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:55.240 That's right. There was another study. This one was by 0:07:55.640 --> 0:08:00.640 Michael Delgado and Lucia Jacobs, professors that you ce Berkeley, 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:04.160 and they said, you know what, this caching thing is 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:08.280 a lot more complex than even we knew about. They 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:13.600 did these experiments over nineteen months for fromen they fed 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:18.640 forty five marked free ranging Eastern fox squirrels one nut 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:22.560 at a time, uh sixteen for each squirrel and all 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:25.280 different kinds of nuts, hazel nuts, pecans, walnuts, almost the 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.679 good stuff. And if the squirrels didn't eat the nuts, 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:30.160 like you know, we said, they had to take care 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:32.240 of themselves. But if they were had been fed for 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:37.240 the day, they tracked using GPS where they buried their 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.839 little nut prizes. And what did they find out. They 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:45.040 found out that they um bury them basically according to 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:51.079 things like size, type, potentially, calorie density, taste, um and 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:55.120 so they graded them basically on on value. And so 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.920 like say, you know, they gave a squirrel a bunch 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.960 of walnuts, they would bury the all nuts generally in 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.840 the same area, away from say where they buried the 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.640 almonds or the acorns or whatever. And this is called 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.040 spatial chunking, and it's a mnemonic device that we use, 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:12.920 but it's pretty amazing that squirrels use it too, to 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.880 remember where they put something generally, like walnuts are generally 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.280 over here, so if I'm hungry for a walnut, i 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:21.000 can just go over there and I'm going to dig 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:24.560 up a walnut. Yeah, So it's it's literally a device 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.920 to remember things because it's a strategy. They said in 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:31.640 their quote, it's a. It's a cognitive strategy to decrease 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:37.200 memory load and increase accuracy of retrieval. So, um, how 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.600 you translate that is, squirrels have a lot going on 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:42.240 and they're bearing a lot of nuts, so they use 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:45.920 this little pneumonic device to remember where all the good 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:49.840 stuff is. Plus also don't forget they have squirrel sized brains. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.160 So yeah, they want to take as many shortcuts and 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:55.560 use as many mnemonic devices as they possibly can to 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.040 remember where they bury these nuts. And it makes sense 0:09:58.080 --> 0:09:59.880 that they would be good at this because their survive 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.800 all depends on it. You know, so are you, which 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.800 is to say huge brains, No, very small brains, very 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.840 small brains that are good at taking shortcuts, because it's true. 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:11.840 One of the other things though, is this, This really 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:15.800 indicates that squirrels remember where they bury nuts, and they do, 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:18.280 they have devices for that, but they also forget a 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.160 lot and they don't always crack open and nut, which 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.400 means that squirrels go around and plant lots of trees 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.720 every year by going and burying acorns you know, in 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.680 the ground or walnuts in the ground. Um, that's how 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:32.400 That's one of the ways that some a lot of 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:36.040 trees are propagated is through squirrels who go basically garden, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:41.800 So that is squirrels everybody. They have their favorites and 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:43.760 they hide them where they don't want them to get found, 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.720 just like I would do. You know what's weird, though, Chuck? 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.240 I have one question real quick? Why don't humans eat acorns? 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:52.679 Wet everything else? All those other nuts that they used 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:57.040 to test the squirrels out with, almonds, walnuts, um, all 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:01.439 that those two? Basically, why don't we acorns any ideas? 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.160 I don't know. I think they might be toxic and 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:09.439 they're bitter. Okay? You have a roast one for a 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.000 roasted acorn? Yeah, but like on a campfire? Did and 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:16.520 eat it afterwards? Though? Acorn squash? Yeah, I don't. I 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:20.120 don't know if that's actually acorn. No, it's not. Um. 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.880 You got anything else about squirrels or acorns or anything 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.040 like that. Nothing else? Okay? Well everybody, since Chuck said 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:27.800 nothing else, that means that we have come to the 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:30.160 end of the short stuff, and short stuff is apt 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.160 stuff you should know is a production of iHeart Radios 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.920 How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.840 visit the iHeart Radio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever you 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:42.080 listen to your favorite shows.