What Animal Eats Pine Cones. Raise your paw if you love pines! Pine needles typically would not hold a candle to these high quality deer foods, but deer will often use lower quality.
The aspca classifies pine trees as toxic to dogs and cats, leading to symptoms such as vomiting and depression. In truth, pine cones were once a prized part of the dinosaur diet, especially for the “duckbill dinosaurs” or parasaurolophus, whose rows of teeth were capable of chewing the tough pine cones. Sometimes, while climbing in trees, bank moles eat pine buds along with the bark.
Squirrels eat green pine cones to access the seeds in the pine cone.
Pine cones open up and release their seeds when it is warm and it is easier for the seed to germinate. Does any animal eat pine cones? The main function of a pine cone is to keep a pine tree’s seeds safe. Eat the seeds immediately or cache them.