The Eastern Chipmunk is a member of the squirrel family. It’s believed that the English word “chipmunk” was derived from “chetamnon,” the name given to the animal by peoples of the Chippewa nation. Chipmunks are found throughout the United States, mainly in areas east of the Great Plains.
How to Identify Chipmunks
Chipmunks have short, dense fur that is a reddish rust color on top. There are five black stripes on the back—one down the center and two on each side that outline a white stripe. A white eye line stretches above and below each eye, separated by a band of black. With a body 5-6 inches long and a tail 3-4 inches long, chipmunks are about 1/3 the size of an Eastern Gray Squirrel. As chipmunks scamper along the ground, they hold their flat, hairy tail in the air.
Chipmunks are commonly seen in forests and woodlots, where they forage for food in leaf litter, as well as in suburban yards and city parks.
Chipmunk Behavior
What do Chipmunks Eat?
Seeds, berries, nuts, and fruit are the mainstays of a chipmunk’s diet, but they also eat insects, insect larvae, slugs, snails, and earthworms. Occasionally they will even eat eggs, small birds, frogs, and small snakes.
Chipmunks store food in their cheek pouches before depositing it in their burrow. Researchers have reported seeing chipmunk’ stuff nearly 72 black-oil sunflower seeds in their pouch. They are very territorial and will compete with other chipmunks for food patches.
Chipmunk Breeding
Eastern Chipmunks in Massachusetts usually mate twice a year, once in the early spring from March to early April and again from early June to mid-July. The female rebuffs the male after mating, and he does not sharing in the rearing of the young.
A litter of 2–5 tiny, hairless, and blind young—each nomor more than 2.5 inches long—are born after a 31-day gestation period. The first litter is generally born in April or May, and the second in July or August.
After six weeks, and under their mother’s watchful eye, they begin taking short trips out of the burrow. At week 7 or 8, the mother becomes more aggressive toward her offspring to prepare them for independence. Two weeks later, the mother denies them access to the burrow, and the young are forced to disperse and find or dig their own shelter.
When the young disperse in the spring and fall, adults occupying nearby burrows give loud “chip-chip-chip” calls outside the burrow entrance—presumably to notify the newly-independent youngsters of occupied territory.