Eastern Chipmunk

Tamias striatus

ID

• Longitudinal stripes on the back: black, white, black, brown, black, brown, black, white, black
• Prominent, rounded ears
• Furry tail
• Black and white facial strips and clay-colored cheeks
• Rust-colored sides
• White belly
• Well-developed internal cheek pouches (Whitaker)

Distribution

Reproduction

• Most mating occurs between late February and early April
• Gestation takes 31 to 32 days, with a litter of 3 to 5 young (Whitaker)
• In early spring, males emerge from their winter burrows with enlarged scrotal testes and group in the vicinity of an estrous female to compete and mate with her (Linzey)
• Young nurse for 6 weeks and are fully grown at 5 to 7 months

Behavior

• Solitary
• Diurnal
• Ground-dwellers. Burrows can be single-chambered with one or two tunnels, or extensive, multi-chambered, multi-enterance systems. The simpler burrows are mostly used by yearlings as temporary shelter, and by adult males.
• Food storers
• Hibernates, but wakes frequently to eat stored food (Whitaker)
• Family groups will sometimes overwinter together (Linzey)

Food Habits

• Mostly unidentified nut material, some insects, fruits, seeds, small vertebrates, spores and fungus (Whitaker)
• Acorns, hickory nuts, beechnuts, walnuts, small seeds, berries, wild grapes, snails, earthworms, insects (Linzey)

Size/Life Cycle

• Average size in Indiana: 242mm (total length), 86mm (tail), 34mm (hind foot), and 111g (total weight) (Whitaker)
• Average life span of 2-4 years, although there have been cases where they lived past 8 years (Linzey)

Predators

• Snakes, foxes, hawks, bobcats, house cats, weasel (Whitaker)

Habitat

• Hardwood deciduous forests, rocky area, edges of grassy clearings and farmland. They can climb, but spend most of their time on the ground (Linzey)
• Cautious on thin branches, unlike their tree-dwelling cousins (Whitaker)