Spatial Orientation on a Vertical Maze in Free-Ranging Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger)

To determine how squirrels return to remembered locations in an arboreal environment, wild fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) were trained on an outdoor vertical maze. Squirrels were trained on 1 route and tested with all routes accessible. Possible mechanisms of spatial orientation were distinguished with manipulations such as rotations, shifts, and blocked routes. Squirrels consistently used an extra-maze, allothetic frame of reference to orient and appeared to organize their memory of the route hierarchically. This study demonstrates that a laboratory technique, the maze, can be successfully brought into the field to measure mechanisms of spatial orientation under natural conditions in free-ranging wild rodents. Such studies will allow researchers to determine what kind of spatial information is acquired by wild animals under natural conditions and how this information is used.