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 squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) in southern Alberta, Canada, carcasses of 27 ground squirrels were scatter hoarded by badgers (Taxidea taxus). Cached ground squirrels, which rarely exhibited external signs of trauma, were hoarded singly either above ground (n = 16) or underground (n = 11) in a curled head-to-tail posture in a pocket of firm soil and then covered with loose soil. Except for 3 carcasses cached by a mother badger in June, remaining ground squirrels were cached between 7 September and 28 November, with most hoarding (n = 17) occurring from 16 October to 17 November. Of 24 ground squirrels cached in autumn, 23 were in hibernation at the time of capture. Badgers retrieved the majority (14 of 18 available) of carcasses, with the latest retrieval occurring on 9 December. Carcasses were retrieved, in the order they were cached, 1 to 55 days ( = 14 days) after caching. Cache storage, cache retrieval, and consumption of freshly caught prey were prevalent in autumn, often occurring on the same night, indicating that caching contributed to fattening in autumn rather than as a food reserve to be used by badgers during winter.