Squirrels plant forests by forgetting their nuts
Squirrels bury thousands of nuts for winter, but their forgotten caches sprout into trees, unknowingly regenerating forests and sustaining ecosystems in a remarkable natural cycle.
Squirrels, like the eastern gray squirrel, bury thousands of nuts each year to store food for winter. This scatter hoarding behavior means they dig small holes and cover nuts, but often forget where they hid them. A single squirrel might bury up to 10,000 acorns annually, and many of these forgotten caches sprout into new trees.
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