Chipmunk - North American

Chipmunk

Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. All species of 

chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk, 

which is found primarily in Asia.

The genus name Tamias is Greek for "treasurer", "steward", or "housekeeper", which 

is a reference to the animals' role in plant dispersal through their habit of 

collecting and storing food for winter use.

Chipmunks have also been referred to as "striped squirrels," "chippers," "munks," 

"timber tigers," or "ground squirrels". Chipmunks have an omnivorous diet primarily consisting of seeds, nuts and other 

fruits, and buds. They also commonly eat grass, shoots, and many other forms of 

plant matter, as well as fungi, insects and other arthropods, small frogs, worms, 

and bird eggs. Around humans, chipmunks can eat cultivated grains and vegetables, 

and other plants from farms and gardens, so they are sometimes considered pests. 

Chipmunks mostly forage on the ground, but they climb trees to obtain nuts such as 

hazelnuts and acorns. At the beginning of autumn, many species of chipmunk begin 

to stockpile nonperishable foods for winter. They mostly cache their foods in a 

larder in their burrows and remain in their nests until spring, unlike some other 

species, which make multiple small caches of food. Cheek pouches allow chipmunks 

to carry multiple food items to their burrows for either storage or consumption.

Chipmunks typically live about three years, although have been observed living to 

nine years in captivity.

Chipmunks in captivity are said to sleep for an average of about 15 hours a day. 

It is thought that mammals which can sleep in hiding, such as rodents and bats, 

tend to sleep longer than those that must remain on alert.

Collect your Clever Chipmunk today! It's definitely a Must!