The raccoon, opossum and skunk commonly hole up and stay quiet for a few days or even weeks during extremely cold weather. Then they live on their fat reserves but do not become cold-blooded. On warmer nights they come out and forage actively even in midwinter. The raccoon feeds on waste corn in farmers' fields, acorns and wild fruits, or searches the shallows of unfrozen streams for crayfish. In addition to scavenging for any kind of animal matter, the opossum eats wild fruit, The skunk hunts meadow mice, ground-roosting birds, and digs among grass and fallen leaves for hibernating insects.
Some animals hoard food for winter use.
In autumn, chipmunks and deer mice gather large quantities of nuts, wild cherry, basswood, dogwood and other seeds which they store in their burrows. The fox squirrel and gray squirrel bury nuts and acorns in the ground near their den trees. In winter these are dug up and eaten, even through inches of snow. Before freezing weather sets in, the beaver gnaws down cottonwood, aspen and willow trees, then cuts the branches into convenient lengths and sinks them underwater for winter use. The muskrat feeds under the ice on the roots and stems of cattails and other aquatic plants but it also piles up special mounds of plants in early autumn which are eaten in winter.