Squirrels are intelligent rodents that have adapted well to living with humans. In addition, they are very clever animals that have shown that they have excellent memory capacity. It begs the question, “Do squirrels remember people?” because of their closeness to humans and remarkable memory.
Squirrels’ ability to retain memories of people is well-documented. Squirrels fostered by humans often return to see their foster parents. They may be taught to recall which humans to eat since they are safe and dependable. Academic studies show that squirrels can remember and repeat challenging activities like navigating mazes and manipulating various levers.
A Squirrel’s Memory: How Good Is It?
Squirrels’ abilities have astonished researchers. In reality, they use a complex “language” to communicate, encompassing various noises and ideas.
For the formidable challenge of discovering a tasty hazelnut, scientists at Exeter University used gray squirrels.
After two years, squirrels remembered how to solve the problem and sped through the labyrinth in record time. A squirrel was able to solve the issue and place it after 22 years, despite not having seen it in that period before.
Squirrels are also cunning enough to mislead foragers and other squirrels that may be pursuing their food and possess strong memory. After they seem to dig and bury their food to keep it safe from predators, squirrels will put their food away. Afterward, they will be able to recollect (for the most part) the exact position of their nuts.
Squirrels arrange their food store into “chunks” in addition to discovering the nuts they have hidden in the ground. The list goes on because squirrels will put their acorns in one spot and their hazelnuts in another.
Having a good memory and identifying whether people are friends or foes is easy for squirrels because of their intellect and long-term memory.
Human-Squirrel Interactions
Usually, squirrels avoid human contact, but in metropolitan settings, they’ve learned that people aren’t generally in threat. When squirrels see their human friends going on the walkway, they respond appropriately. Squirrels quickly ran if people approached them while going along a walkway without being seen.
Is Feeding Squirrels a Good Idea?
Wildlife fascinates many people. Generally speaking, feeding squirrels should be avoided or, at the very least, kept to a minimum.
You should avoid being a rodent’s primary food source for several reasons. For one thing, squirrels may not get enough nutrients from human food (i.e., “people’s food”). Because of their incredible recall, squirrels risk becoming too reliant on humans for food, which might lead to a dangerous situation. As a result, squirrels may become unresponsive and die from starvation.
