200 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



When in search of food, a squirrel will run about the branches of a 

 tree until it finds a suitable cone and then with a few quick strokes of the 

 sharp incisor teeth will cut through the stem of the cone. Light cones are 

 usually seized, carried to some convenient place in the tree, and there 

 opened up, but a heavy cone is let fall to the ground. Often several cones 

 are cut off in quick succession, then the squirrel descends, to attend further 

 to its harvest. If the cones are not too heavj^ the squirrel seizes one in its 

 mouth and repairs to some log or lower branch in the tree. But if too 

 heavy to carry, as in the case of the cone of a sugar pine, the cone is 

 opened right on the ground where it fell, or it may be dragged a little 

 ways, up close to the base of the tree. The procedure in opening the cone 

 to obtain the seeds is practically always the same ; most cones are held in 

 the forepaws, but very heavy ones are turned over and over on the ground. 



A pine cone consists of a central core upon which the flattened scales 

 are disposed in spiral series. Beneath each scale, in the case of the pines 

 and firs, lie two seeds. The squirrel, to obtain the seeds in the green 

 cone, begins at the upper (stem) end and systematically cuts off the scales 

 at their points of attachment to the core. To do this the cone is rotated 

 so as to bring fresh uncut scales before the animal's chisel-like teeth. At 

 the upper end of the cone, seeds are small or wanting; but as soon as this 

 region is passed, the r.emoval of each scale uncovers two large seeds. These, 

 in the green cone, already have the covering which later becomes the shell 

 of the pine nut, and also the flat wing; but the seed coat is still soft and 

 a stroke or two of the teeth exposes the green yet tasty meat which is, 

 of course, the objective of all the squirrel's efforts. This process of cut- 

 ting off scales and disposing of the seeds is continued until nothing remains 

 but the stripped core and a pile of scales and shells of seeds. All through 

 the summer, autumn, and winter months these fresh kitchen middens are 

 to be seen on the ground at the bases of large trees, or on logs or boulders, 

 showing where the squirrels have been feasting. 



Acorns from the black, golden, or live oaks are either picked in the 

 trees, one at a time, or else gathered up after they have ripened and fallen 

 to the ground. If to be consumed on the spot only a few strokes of the 

 teeth are needed to shell out the meat or 'mast.' But many of the acorns 

 are buried entire in the ground, single nuts being placed in little pits 

 dug here and there, and then carefully covered up. There is no doubt 

 whatsoever that this habit of the Gray Squirrels is a beneficent one with 

 respect to reforestation, in that they p7aw^ the seeds of valuable trees; 

 for probably some of their caches are never found. Then, too, many a 

 squirrel comes to grief before it has had a chance to benefit from its 

 storage proclivities. 



