If squirrels sleep all winter why do they need all those nuts?

Question

Do they wake up intermittently and have a quick snack, or do they gorge themselves in the Spring?

Answer 1

Squirrels are evil.
They don't eat the nuts. Squirrels store nuts for ammunition to bombard their enemies with as they wander beneath their fortress-like trees.
I am a victim of the N.U.T. missile. I have several scars and long term injuries resulting from a planned assault by a collection of the evil grey squirrels.

Answer 2

They don't sleep all winter.

One well-known trait of some species of squirrel is the gathering and storing of nuts for the winter. These squirrels are scatter-hoarders, i.e. they will gather nuts and store them in any accessible hiding place, usually by burying them. Recent research shows that they have excellent memories for the locations of these caches. Another characteristic trait of several types of squirrels, especially ground squirrels, is their tendency to rise on their hind legs and curl their paws flat against their chests when they sense any kind of danger. They will then survey their surrounding territories. If they feel that they are in peril, they will often send the warning call, a loud screeching sound, to alert other squirrels. Then there is a mad rush to the burrow.

Unlike rabbits or deer, squirrels cannot digest cellulose, and must rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Early spring is the hardest time of year for squirrels, as buried nuts begin to sprout and are no longer available, but new food sources have not become available yet. During these times squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees, in particular, those of the Silver Maple. Despite popular impression, squirrels are actually omnivores; as well as eating a wide variety of plant food, including nuts, seeds, fruits, fungi (for example, mushrooms), and green vegetation, they also eat insects, eggs, and even small birds, smaller mammals, and frogs. It is also a common occurrence that these foods replace nuts in some of the tropics.

Answer 3

They still go about their normal business but being winter there are no nuts to be had on the trees, So they're like saying to each other "I'm starving squirel buddy, what are we going to do" then they're like "Wait a minute didn't we spend september making a big of nuts in the 3rd Oak from the left as you enter the wood from the north?"

Answer 4

The same place they live in the summer, they just spend more time in thier dens. If they are ground squirrels, they generally hibernate, if they are tree squirrels they usually scatter-hoard food and spend a cozy winter in thier drey eating the food and coming out for thier stashes on nice days.

Answer 5

You mean to tell me that those squirrels in the back yard, some of whom I've come to know on a first name basis, were supposed to be 'sleeping' all those winters? And they kept nagging me for more nuts in January?? Why those no good #$%&@, just wait til this next winter rolls around and I catch one of them walking around after curfew - which to me is anything after November 15 - and I'll give him/her a boot right back into their tree bunk. Thanks very much for asking that question, because I'm feeling very taken-advantage-of right now.

Answer 6

Grey squirrels dont hibernate, they congregate outside my back door waiting for me to give them chocolate brazil nuts. Then they eat a bit, bury some and come back for them later when the cat isnt around. After all who knows when I might run out of Chocolate covered brazil nuts, you know it makes sense....

Answer 7

it's actually only our native red squirrels who hibernate, and they stock up so that they have enough to eat before and immediately after hibernation..

Grey squirrels (which I believe were introduced from America), on the other hand are active all year round, and are becoming a big threat to the red squirrel in Scotland

Answer 8

I used to live in Minnesota and we had so many pesky squirrels during the winter. They don't sleep that much at all.

Answer 9

They do not sleep all winter, therefore they need to harvest food to last them through the winter, when food is scarce.

Answer 10

To scratch when they wake up (the guys will know what I mean)