Shoveling

Shoveling is a form of nesting behavior that typically occurs toward the beginning of the nesting behavioral sequence.

The animal will plunge its nose into the bedding material and burrow under covering itself in the material, although scraping with the forepaws is not observed as it is in digging. The animal will then resurface and may shake to remove the substrate.

Nesting Behavior, in Maintenance Behaviors

Nesting behavior occurs in the contexts of reprodution, pup rearing, and environmental changes.

• This behavior resembles burrowing. In wild populations, burrowing is a normal part of the nesting behavior sequence. 
• Much like digging, shoveling may be viewed as a stereotypy in a laboratory setting.