Golden hamsters hoard food by carrying it back lo their nest-site along a fairly direct path. 7 out of 12 animals continued to orientate in this way after passive transportation to the food source and the simultaneous elimination of visual, olfactory and acoustical cues. Experiments in which the hamsters tried to reach their nest-box from an unfamiliar place suggest that they orientate in a given direction with respect to a 'compass', the nature of whieh has still to be determined.