Yep, natal dispersal is evident in both squirrels and bears. I included three useful resources to answer your question (below).
Natal dispersal is the permanent departure of an individual from its place of birth, usually at the end of the breeding season. It is an important part of the life history of many animals, especially mammals, and tends to be sexually dimorphic, males dispersing further than females. Natal dispersal is potentially both hazardous and energetically expensive; dispersing animals tend to be vulnerable to predators and, being on the move, have little time to feed. Dispersal therefore requires internal energy reserves in the form of fat, the very same reserves that they later need to survive the winter. There may thus be a trade-off in the allocation of energy reserves to dispersal and to hibernation.
Scott Nunes of Michigan State University has studied dispersal and hibernation in Belding's ground squirrels in a locality where hibernation lasts for eight to nine months of the year. Young males typically disperse after the summer breeding season but show much variation in the extent to which they do so, with fatter males being more likely to move out of the natal area. In years when breeding is delayed, dispersal is inhibited; instead, young males remain near the natal area, building up their fat reserves prior to hibernation.
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/behavecolnotes7.htmAlso see attachments
Quick Reply
