The tayra (Eira barbara), a species of mustelid found in Central and South America, is the first non-human animal to have been found to harvest unripe fruits and hide them until they ripen. Unlike other native species such as coatis and opossums that eat ripe fruit while it is still attached to the plant, tayras break off whole sapote and plantain fruits and cache them for later. This may seem similar to a squirrel stashing away nuts for the winter, but there is a key difference: nuts are a food that could be eaten now, but are not required, whereas the fruits kept by tayras are not yet edible. As such this research sparks the hotly debated question of whether animals have an awareness of, or plan for, the future; in this case, whether the tayra plans that the fruits will provide for them when they are hungry a few days from now. The strongest evidence for this has currently been seen in primates and corvids - for example, chimpanzees have been seen to take tools for later use even if they are currently unnecessary - but it remains up for debate whether these animals specifically carry out their actions with the future in mind.



Ref: Soley & Alvarado-Díaz (2011) Prospective thinking in a mustelid? Eira barbara (Carnivora) cache unripe fruits to consume them once ripened. Naturwissenschaften 98, 693-698. [link]