Chipmunks are rodents that are a tipe of squirrel. These small, furry animals are identified by their stubby legs, bushy tails and the white, black and brown stripes that run down their backs.

Size
Chipmunks are the smallest members of the squirrel family, according to National Geographic. The biggest species of chipmunk is the Eastern chipmunk. It grows to 11 inches (28 centimeters) and weighs up to 4.4 ounces (125 grams).

Chipmunks typically grow to around 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 cm) and weigh 1 to 5 ounces (28 to 142 g). Their tails can grow as long as 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 cm).

Habitat
There are 25 species of chipmunk, according to National Geographic. Only one of those species, called the Siberian chipmunk, lives outside of North America. The Siberian chipmunk lives in Asia and is expanding into parts of Europe, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In North America, chipmunks can be found almost anywhere there are trees.

Chipmunks make homes for themselves by creating burrows that consist of an underground tunnel system or by making nests in logs or bushes. Their tunnel systems can be 10 to 30 feet (3 to 9.1 m) long.

Habits
Though you may see chipmunks around each other, they are not social animals. They like to keep to themselves and only interact during mating season, which is in the spring.

They are most active at dusk and dawn. Chipmunks spend most of their days foraging. A single chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in a day, according to National Geographic Kids.

Chipmunks hibernate, but they don’t store fat to see them through long winters like bears do. During the warm months, chipmunks will stuff extra food into their cheek pouches. These cheeks are massive grocery bags. They can stretch to be three times larger than the chipmunk’s head, according to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. When they have a full load, they lift the food to their home and store it. During the winter, they eat from their food cache for energy.

During hibernation, chipmunks can seem like they are dead. Their heart rates can drop from 350 beats per minute to around 4 beats per minute, and their body temperature can drop from 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius) to as cold as 40 F (4.44 C), according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).