Psychic squirrels.

Red squirrels living in the Canadian Yukon and Europe seem to be psychic when it comes to food. Researchers report that the animals are able to predict when spruce trees will produce an overabundance of seed cones, their main food source. The squirrels then produce two consecutive litters just in time to take advantage of the bounty. Many trees produce relatively little seed in most years. But in some years, the trees produce an unusuaLLy large amount. This helps assure that some seed will remain uneaten and have a chance to grow. How the squirrels manage to predict a bumper crop of seed cones remains a mystery. Stan Boutin, a scientist at the University of Alberta in Canada, says they could be getting cues from the buds on the trees. They may be able to tell. visually which buds will become cones, or get chemical, cues from plant hormones in the buds.