Caching of Richardson's ground squirrels by North American badgers

In 5 autumns and 1 summer during a 13-year study of Richardson's ground squ irrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) in southern Alberta, Canada, carcasses o f 27 ground squirrels were scatter hoarded by badgers (Taxidea taxus). Cach ed ground squirrels, which rarely exhibited external signs of trauma, were hoarded singly either above ground (n = 16) or underground (n = 11) in a cu rled head-to-tail posture in a pocket of firm soil and then covered with lo ose soil. Except for 3 carcasses cached by a mother badger in June, remaini ng ground squirrels were cached between 7 September and 28 November, with m ost hoarding (n = 17) occurring from 16 October to 17 November. Of 24 groun d squirrels cached in autumn, 23 were in hibernation at the time of capture . Badgers retrieved the majority (14 of 18 available) of carcasses, with th e latest retrieval occurring on 9 December. Carcasses were retrieved, in th e order they were cached, 1 to 55 days ((X) over tilde = 14 days) after cac hing. Cache storage, cache retrieval, and consumption of freshly caught pre y were prevalent in autumn, often occurring on the same night, indicating t hat caching contributed to fattening in autumn rather than as a food reserv e to be used by badgers during winter.