The Chipmunk

[Guest]

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Chipmunk
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Adult

Baby

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General Information;

Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Size: 4 to 7 in (10 to 18 cm); Tail, 3 to 5 in (8 to 13 cm)
Weight: 28 to 142 grams
Conservation status:
Not applicable
Scientific Classification: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Suborder: Sciuromorpha. Family: Sciuridae, Tribe: Marmotini, Subtribe: Tamiina
Size relative to a cup:

# Chipmunk Range


These creatures are lively and speedy as well as being the small member of the squirrel family. Their pudgy cheeks, large and glossy eyes, stripes, and bushy tails have made them very popular among animators and it has landed them within starring roles within Hollywood. All of the species, excluding one, are found within North America. Managing to range from Canada to Mexico, they are seen scampering through the undergrowth of a variety of different environments such as forests, deserts, etc. Some dig burrows to live in, which are complete with tunnels and chambers while others may decide to make their homes in nests, bushes or logs.
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Physical Features;
Depending on species, chipmunks can be gray to reddish-brown in color with contrasting dark and light stripes on the sides of their face and across their back and tail. They range in size from the least chipmunk, which, at 7.2 to 8.5 inches (18.5 to 21.6 centimeters) and 1.1 to 1.8 ounces (32 to 50 grams), is the smallest chipmunk, to the Eastern chipmunk, which grows up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) and weighs as much as 4.4 ounces (125 grams).
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Mental Features;
Chipmunks are very lively and very fast. They have a bird-like chip which is used when danger is sensed or as a mating call for female chipmunks. Other communications include gestures such as waving their tails enabling them to communicate effectively with others of their species. Chipmunks are solitary animals and male and female do not pair until breeding season. Although chipmunks hibernate from late autumn until early spring, they do not store fat, instead they slowly gnaw away at their supplies throughout the winter, waking every 2 weeks or so to eat.
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Diet;
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.
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Threats towards this animal;
The threats towards this animal excluding wolves are:

Snakes, bobcats, owls, hawks, weasels, cats, foxes and coyotes.
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Credits (c);

Images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31064702@N05/4890195977/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/audreyjm529/4572720564/

Information:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chipmunk/?source=A-to-Z
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipmunk
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/chipmunk.html
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