A study of Eastern gray squirrels observed that individuals often bury their acorns in widely scattered locations rather than in a single cache, even though this increases the energy expenditure required for retrieval. This behavior appears counterintuitive, as it exposes the squirrel to predation for longer periods. Researchers hypothesize, however, that this "scatter-hoarding" is a defensive strategy designed to prevent a catastrophic loss of the entire food supply to fungal infection, which spreads rapidly in dense clusters of organic matter.