By Saundra McBrearty, Outreach and Volunteer Specialist
As speedy and hardworking seed planters, chipmunks rise to the top of my list of favorite animals to watch in the forest. Eastern chipmunks are small members of the squirrel family, and possibly the cutest with their chubby cheeks, large glossy eyes, pin stripes, and bushy tails. Plus they are plentiful throughout the forests of Preservation Parks.
Chipmunks are at home on the forest floor where there are abundant hiding spots under rocks or in fallen trees, protecting them from predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes, weasels, and snakes. Chipmunks feed on insects, berries, seeds, fungus, and grain which they stuff into their generous cheek pouches and carry to their burrow or nest to store. They also spread seeds of trees and other plants along their path.
Each chipmunk builds a burrow where it may live for several years. The chipmunk builds its burrow by digging a tunnel and filling the space with fluffy seeds, leaves and grasses. It stores nuts and seeds for the winter underneath this bedding, which helps the uneaten nuts and seeds grow into plants. Chipmunks hibernate, but don’t sleep solidly through the cold season. Instead of storing fat, chipmunks wake up every few days and snack on their cache of nuts and seeds throughout the winter.
Chipmunks are solitary and normally ignore one another except during mating in the spring and late summer. The female chipmunk gives birth to an average of three to five pups after a 31-day gestation period. The pups have no fur, are blind and weigh only about three grams! They will venture out of the burrow after about six weeks. The young then stay with their parents for two months before gathering their own provisions for the winter ahead.
Chipmunks do make sounds, a repeated shrill, bird-like chirp made upon sensing a threat or used as a mating call by females. Click on the YouTube link to listen to the chipmunk chirp. Have you ever heard this sound while walking in the woods or even in your own backyard?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGMeqm4W9Uw
Watch out for chipmunks this month and take a moment to enjoy these busybodies at work.
