Keeping treasure safe: Eurasian red squirrels cache valuable food far from the food source with low canopy cover

Abstract Scatter-hoarding animals decide their food hoarding location by assessing quality and pilfering risk. Previous studies have proposed two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses; the optimal density model (ODM) habitat structure hypothesis (HSH). The ODM proposes that utilize low cache to protect valuable caches transporting far from sources. HSH predation risk in open areas. Here, we investigated behaviours Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris experimentally providing high-quality (walnuts) low-quality (acorns) food, examine if they follow or HSH. Compared acorns, hoarded walnuts places further area where was provisioned areas with canopy cover. These results agree both HSH, first evidence behaviour is shaped multiple factors.