Keep in mind that I'm not looking for a specific answer. I'm not trying to argue one point vs. another.
However, Theo, another way to look at some of your statements above are that the dog is saving the bone for later. As far as my dog, I'm usually the one who goes and finds one of his bones. He tries so damn hard to not pay attention to me when I'm in the vicinity of a recent burial.
The squirrels are storing food for the winter, and the growth of new trees will already happen as the nuts or acorns are already on the ground; doesn't matter if the squirrel drops a nut.
I'm not saying that every species of animal tries to create a regenerating food source. I'm just amazed at the power of instinct and how it may play here.
We had a cat that killed a lot of wild life around our house. One time I saw the cat with two baby rabbits. It was half way through eating one of them. It had crippled the second baby rabbit, without killing it, to save it for a little later. Sure I poured a whole bucket of water on the cat, but then I don't like cats (it was our cat).
The main reason I even posed the question is because someone (don't remember who) suggested that as a possibility, a bird intentionally putting fish in pond. If it were the case, it would be very interesting.
