Red Squirrel with a Pinecone

Red squirrels in Yellowstone live in coniferous forests and a major part of their diet is the seeds of lodgepole pine, spruce, and white bark pine. They cut off the lodgepole pine cones before they ripen in the autumn and store them in several middens or caches within their territory. The middens become their primary feeding sites and large piles of cone scales and cores accumulate there. The squirrels deftly hold and turn the cone while they peel off the scales to expose and eat the tiny seeds.