Overview
- University of Exeter scientists, whose paper appeared Thursday in Animal Behaviour, found wild grey squirrels often work harder to reach a tastier reward.
- The team ran more than 4,000 choice tests with 11 marked squirrels on the Streatham Campus in Exeter.
- Each trial set almond pieces higher on a pole than pumpkin seeds, yet the animals’ preference for almonds fell only slightly.
- Lower-ranking squirrels chose the easier snack more often, which researchers link to a higher risk of losing hard-won food to rivals.
- The results run against lab findings that animals avoid effortful rewards, highlighting the value of tests on wild populations.