Hoarding (animal Behavior) - Function of Caching

Function of Caching

Caching behavior is typically a way to save excess edible food for later consumption - either soon to be eaten food, such as when a jaguar hangs a partially eaten prey in a tree to be eaten within a few days, or long term where the food is hidden and retrieved many months later. Caching is a common adaptation to seasonal changes in food availability. In regions where winters are harsh, food availability typically becomes low, and caching food during the times of high food availability in the warmer months provides a significant survival advantage. This phenomenon is referenced in the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper.

However, in ripening caching behavior, animals collect and cache food which is immediately inedible but will become "ripe" and edible after a short while. For instance, tayras (a Central American weasel) have been observed to harvest whole green plantains, hide them, and then come back to eat them after they have ripened. Crocodilians such as the Alligator are predators with ineffective teeth action - they can bite prey to kill it but can't tear flesh or chew. Small enough prey are swallowed whole while for larger prey, such as a deer, the carcass is cached underwater and left to rot (or "ripen") until it is easy to eat. Leafcutter ants harvest pieces of inedible leaves and then cache them in underground chambers to ripen with a fungus which is the main food for the colony.