Flying squirrels in China have discovered a unique method on how they will store and preserve nuts, and that is by nibbling grooves in them.
The findings of Ecology Professor Han Xu indicated that this clever behavior was observed in two species of the flying squirrel spotted in the tropical rainforests of Hainan Island.
In an interview with Live Science, Han, whose study was published in eLife journal, said, "Only these two flying squirrel [species] have this technique and no other squirrel species or animals are known to have this ability."
Chewing grooves
Han and the other researchers learned that Indochinese flying squirrels (Hylopetes phayrei) and particolored flying squirrels (Hylopetes alboniger) nibbled at grooves in the nuts and adjusted how the nuts were positioned between Y-shaped tree branches.
Their observation showed that this would make the twigs fit better into nuts' furrows.
To study the behavior, Han and his colleagues had set up 32 infrared cameras across 13.5 acres (5.5 hectares) of rainforest where they had found 151 nuts wedged between tree branches. They found out that most of the nuts were stored between 5 and 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 m) above the ground.
When they checked the stored nuts after three and a half months, they discovered that the nuts had not germinated.
Pizza Ka Yee Chow, a researcher focusing on animal behavior and cognition, told Live Science that the suggestion on storing nuts in the fork of twigs to avoid germination is possible, adding that it is always interesting to see how animals develop surprising and effective strategies to adapt in the environment they are living in.
Contribution to environment, biodiversity
According to a report on Phys.Org, the behavior of the squirrels have depicted their cognitive and engineering skills.
Further, this practice can actually contribute to an even dispersal of the nut-producing trees across the rainforest.
Suqin Fang, Associate Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences in Sun Yat-Sen University, noted in the Phys.Org report that the characteristic shown by the flying squirrels helps the trees and the other plants and animals that rely on them, saying that it is beneficial in the overall forest ecology.
Previous studies have revealed that in temperate regions, squirrels routinely bury their nuts or store them in tree hollows or logs for use during lean times. On the other hand, the nuts of squirrels living in humid rainforests will rapidly decompose or germinate in the ground or wood cavities.
A report in Bollyinside said this specific behavior was not observed in any other squirrel species or animals.
Studies also showed that this uncommon method could have been learned by squirrels from individuals who first invented the storage technique.
This acknowledged the "remarkable" ability of animals to learn from one another and develop effective strategies to overcome environmental challenges, the Bollyinside report said.
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