Squirrels are nature’s little hoarders, but they’ve got a nutty problem—they forget where they bury nearly half their stash! These bushy-tailed critters spend fall scurrying around, burying acorns and other nuts to survive winter. A single gray squirrel can bury up to 10,000 nuts in a season, digging tiny holes with their paws and covering them up to hide their treasure from rivals. But studies show they only recover about 60% of their buried loot, leaving 40% underground due to their spotty memory.

Why so forgetful? Squirrels rely on a mix of memory and smell to find their nuts, but they scatter their hiding spots over a wide area—sometimes a few acres—to avoid losing everything to thieves like birds or other squirrels. With so many hiding places, it’s no wonder they lose track! They also use a trick called “deceptive caching,” where they pretend to bury a nut in one spot but actually hide it somewhere else to fool onlookers. Sometimes, they even fool themselves and forget the real spot.

Here’s the funny part: those forgotten nuts aren’t wasted. They often sprout into new trees, making squirrels accidental gardeners. In fact, scientists estimate that squirrels are responsible for planting millions of oak trees each year, helping forests grow without even realizing it. Some squirrels get crafty and store nuts in easy-to-remember spots, like under a rock or in a tree hollow, but most rely on their hit-or-miss memory. So next time you see a squirrel digging frantically, it might be on a treasure hunt for a nut it buried last month—and completely forgot about. It’s a bite-sized fact that shows even the busiest animals can be a little scatterbrained!