What characteristic behavior involving buried food helps identify a Squirrel as an opportunistic nighttime contributor to garden loss?
Answer
Digging in containers or garden beds to retrieve nuts they cached earlier
Although squirrels are predominantly known as daytime feeders, they can contribute to nighttime losses due to their habit of caching food, such as nuts, in various locations. When they return to investigate or retrieve these buried provisions, their digging activity can result in significant collateral damage to flowering plants. This digging frequently leads to smaller flowering plants being completely uprooted as the squirrel excavates its stored food. This behavior—digging specifically for cached nuts—serves as a signature that distinguishes squirrel damage from the consistent browsing or tearing patterns left by dedicated nocturnal herbivores or omnivores.
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