the winter? Have you ever wondered what they like to eat? Squirrels aren’t picky
and will eat almost anything. We know they like to eat acorns, pecans, berries,
apples, vegetables from the garden, and seeds just to name a few. Sometimes
squirrels will eat food meant for other animals such as birdseed, cat food, and
even dog food. But… do squirrels like to eat pumpkins? Check out this science
and STEM experiment we conducted to try and answer this question.
Our Scientific Process and Procedure
This science experiment was inspired by a meme that has been floating around
on several social media platforms. The meme shows a carved pumpkin that was
nibbled on by some squirrels. We wanted to see what would happen if we left
a carved pumpkin outside for the squirrels to eat.
This is the meme that inspired our science experiment. Not all memes on
the internet are legitimate… many are photoshopped to look real. We
wanted to know if this one was real or not.
Question
Do squirrels like to eat pumpkins?
Hypothesis
We predict that some squirrels will eat our pumpkin.
We put our pumpkin outside and set it on some birdseed to attract the
squirrels.
Materials Needed
Procedure
- Carve the small pumpkin. Leave the seeds and pulp inside.
-
Put the pumpkin outside in an area where squirrels like to search for
food. - Check the pumpkin once a day or every couple of days.
- Use the camera to record the changes in the pumpkin.
.jpg "Squirrels Eating the Pumpkin")
Within a couple of days, five squirrels showed up to eat the pumpkin
and birdseed. They were hungry. Sometimes they would chase each other
away from the pumpkin so they could have it for themselves!
Results
The squirrels ate the seeds, pulp, and flesh from the pumpkin. They didn’t
eat the stem. They only ate parts of the rind. The squirrels really liked
the seeds and ate them first. After they ate all of the seeds, they ate the
pumpkin’s pulp and flesh.
Conclusions
Squirrels do like pumpkins and the meme we looked at is probably
legitimate.
After a week or so, not much remained of the pumpkin. The squirrels ate
the seeds (also known as pepitas), pulp, and flesh but only some of the rind. They didn’t eat the stem at
all.
We had a interesting discovery! The squirrels peeled the pumpkin seeds
while they were eating. They left the seed shells on the ground and made a
big mess. Fortunately, these seed shells will disintegrate during the
winter and will provide nutrients for the soil.
Did you enjoy this STEM experiment? If so, check out these other STEM
experiments you may enjoy:
search words: pumpkin, pumpkins, pepita, pepitas, STEM, science,
squirrel, squirrels, pumpkin life cycle, animal, animals
