Chipmunks, the smallest members of the squirrel family, feed on nuts, berries, seeds, and grains. They stuff food into their cheek pouches and carry it to their burrows to store.
Photograph by Michael S Quinton
Map
Chipmunk Range
Audio
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Mammal
- Diet:
- Omnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 2 to 3 years
- Size:
- 4 to 7 in (10 to 18 cm); Tail, 3 to 5 in (8 to 13 cm)
- Weight:
- 1 to 5 ounces (28 to 142 grams)
- Did you know?
- Although chipmunks hibernate, they do not store fat. Instead they slowly gnaw away at their summer bounty throughout the winter.
- Size relative to a tea cup:
-
Lively and speedy critters, chipmunks are small members of the squirrel family. Their pudgy cheeks, large, glossy eyes, stripes, and bushy tails have made them a favorite among animators, and landed them a series of starring roles in Hollywood.
Of the 25 species of chipmunks, all but one, Asia’s Tamias sibiricus, is found in North America. Ranging from Canada to Mexico, they are generally seen scampering through the undergrowth of a variety of environments from alpine forests to shrubby deserts. Some dig burrows to live in, complete with tunnels and chambers, while others make their homes in nests, bushes, or logs.
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).
Chipmunks generally gather food on the ground in areas with underbrush, rocks, and logs, where they can hide from predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes, weasels, and snakes. They feed on insects, nuts, berries, seeds, fruit, and grain which they stuff into their generous cheek pouches and carry to their burrow or nest to store. Chipmunks hibernate, but instead of storing fat, they periodically dip into their cache of nuts and seeds throughout the winter.
Their shrill, repeated, birdlike chirp is usually made upon sensing a threat but is also thought to be used as a mating call by females. Chipmunks are solitary creatures and normally ignore one another except during the spring, when mating takes place. After a 30-day gestation, a litter of two to eight is born. The young stay with their parents for two months before they begin to gather their own provisions for the winter ahead.
For the most part, chipmunks, although susceptible to forest fragmentation, are not currently threatened. However, the Palmer’s chipmunk (Tamias palmeri) is considered a vulnerable species.
Mammal Features
-
Animal Conservation
Find out what National Geographic Society is doing to save animals all over the world, and learn what you can do to help.
-
Crittercam Helps Study Rare Species
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the oldest species of seal on the planet. But their tenure in paradise is perilously close to its end; only about 1,100 seals remain in the wild.
-
Lions Quiz
The king of cats rules with a roar and a fierce bite. What else do you know about this top predator?
-
Cause an Uproar
Big cats are quickly disappearing. Now is the time to act. Cause an uproar to save big cats today.
Animals
-
Aardvark
-
Adélie Penguin
-
African Elephant
-
African Lion
-
African Wild Dog
-
Albatross
-
Alligator Snapping Turtle
-
Amazon Horned Frog
-
American Alligator
-
American Bison
-
American Bullfrog
-
American Crocodile
-
Ammonite
-
Andean Condor
-
Anglerfish
-
Ankylosaurus Magniventris
-
Ant
-
Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
-
Arctic Fox
-
Arctic Hare
-
Arctic Skua
-
Armadillo
-
Asian Elephant
-
Asian Lion
-
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
-
Atlantic Puffin
-
Aye-Aye
-
Baboon
-
Bactrian Camel
-
Bald Eagle
-
Baltimore Oriole
-
Beaver
-
Beluga Whale
-
Bengal Tiger
-
Bird of Paradise
-
Black Bear
-
Black-Footed Ferret
-
Black Mamba
-
Black Rhinoceros
-
Blacktip Shark
-
Black Widow Spider
-
Bluebird
-
Blue Crab
-
Blue-Footed Booby
-
Blue Jay
-
Blue Marlin
-
Blue Whale
-
Boa Constrictor
-
Bobcat
-
Bottlenose Dolphin
-
Box Jellyfish
-
Brachychampsa Montana
-
Brown Bear
-
Bull Shark
-
Burmese Python
-
Butterflyfish
-
California Condor
-
California Sea Lion
-
Canada Goose
-
Cane Toad
-
Canvasback
-
Caribou
-
Carolina Wren
-
Cheetah
-
Chimpanzee
-
Chipmunk
-
Cicada
-
Clouded Leopard
-
Clown Anemonefish
-
Coelacanth
-
Common Earthworm
-
Common Loon
-
Common Octopus
-
Common Sandpiper
-
Common Vampire Bat
-
Common Wombat
-
Coral
-
Cottontail Rabbit
-
Coyote
-
Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
-
Cuban Screech Owl
-
Cubera Snapper
-
Deer Tick
-
Devil Frog
-
Dingo
-
Dog Snapper
-
Dolichorhynchops Osborni
-
Domestic Cat
-
Domestic Dog
-
Draco Lizard
-
Dugong
-
Eastern Coral Snake
-
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
-
Eastern Gray Kangaroo
-
Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
-
Electric Eel
-
Elephant Seal
-
Elk
-
Emperor Penguin
-
Fennec Fox
-
Firefly (Lightning Bug)
-
Flying Fish
-
Flying Snake
-
Fossa
-
Frilled Lizard
-
Fur Seal
-
Galápagos Tortoise
-
Gelada
-
Gentoo Penguin
-
Geographic Cone Snail
-
Giant Anteater
-
Giant Clam
-
Giant Pacific Octopus
-
Giant Panda
-
Giant River Otter
-
Giant Squid
-
Gibbon
-
Gila Monster
-
Giraffe
-
Golden Cowrie
-
Golden Eagle
-
Golden Jellyfish
-
Golden Lion Tamarin
-
Golden Poison Dart Frog
-
Gray Whale
-
Great Blue Heron
-
Great Egret
-
Greater Flamingo
-
Greater Rhea
-
Great Horned Owl
-
Great White Shark
-
Green Anaconda
-
Green Basilisk Lizard
-
Green-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Green Iguana
-
Green Sea Turtle
-
Grizzly Bear
-
Groundhog
-
Hammerhead Shark
-
Harbor Porpoise
-
Harp Seal
-
Hawaiian Monk Seal
-
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
-
Hedgehog
-
Henodus Chelyops
-
Hesperornis Regalis
-
Hippopotamus
-
Honeybee
-
Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
-
Hornet
-
Horse
-
Howler Monkey
-
Humpback Whale
-
Impala
-
Indian Rhinoceros
-
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
-
Jackrabbit
-
Jaguar
-
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Killer Whale (Orca)
-
King Cobra
-
King Vulture
-
Kinkajou
-
Koala
-
Komodo Dragon
-
Krill
-
Ladybug
-
Laughing Kookaburra
-
Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
-
Leatherback Sea Turtle
-
Leopard
-
Leopard Seal
-
Leptoceratops Gracilis
-
Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
-
Lionfish
-
Little Red Flying-Fox
-
Llama
-
Lobster
-
Locust
-
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
-
Lynx
-
Macaw
-
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
-
Mallard Duck
-
Manatee
-
Mandrill
-
Marine Iguana
-
Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
-
Meerkat
-
Meller's Chameleon
-
Mexican Axolotl
-
Mola (Sunfish)
-
Mole Rat
-
Monarch Butterfly
-
Mongoose
-
Mononykus Olecranus
-
Moose
-
Mosquito
-
Mountain Goat
-
Mountain Gorilla
-
Mountain Lion
-
Mouse Lemur
-
Mudpuppy
-
Musk-Ox
-
Narwhal
-
Nile Crocodile
-
North American River Otter
-
Northern Leopard Frog
-
Nudibranch
-
Nurse Shark
-
Nutria
-
Ocelot
-
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Opossum
-
Orangutan
-
Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
-
Osprey
-
Ostrich
-
Oyster
-
Ozark Big-Eared Bat
-
Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
-
Parrot
-
Parrot Fish
-
Peacock
-
Pelican
-
Peregrine Falcon
-
Pileated Woodpecker
-
Platecarpus
-
Platypus
-
Poison Dart Frog
-
Polar Bear
-
Porcupine
-
Portuguese Man-of-War
-
Prairie Dog
-
Praying Mantis
-
Proboscis Monkey
-
Pronghorn
-
Protosphyraena
-
Protostega Gigas
-
Przewalski's Horse
-
Pufferfish
-
Queen Angelfish
-
Quetzal
-
Raccoon
-
Rainbow Trout
-
Raven
-
Red Crab
-
Red-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Red-Footed Booby
-
Red Fox
-
Red Kangaroo
-
Red Leaf Monkey
-
Red Panda
-
Red-Tailed Hawk
-
Red Uakari
-
Rhesus Monkey
-
Right Whale
-
Ringed Seal
-
Ring-Necked Pheasant
-
Ring-Tailed Lemur
-
Rockhopper Penguin
-
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
-
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
-
Sailfish
-
Saltwater Crocodile
-
Sandhill Crane
-
Sand Tiger Shark
-
Scarab
-
Scorpion
-
Sea Anemone
-
Sea Cucumber
-
Seahorse
-
Sea Otter
-
Siberian Tiger
-
Sifaka
-
Skunk
-
Sloth Bear
-
Snow Goose
-
Snow Leopard
-
Snowshoe Hare
-
Snowy Owl
-
Sockeye Salmon
-
Spectacled Bear
-
Sperm Whale
-
Spider Monkey
-
Spotted Hyena
-
Spotted Salamander
-
Spring Peeper
-
Squirrel
-
Starfish (Sea Star)
-
Steller Sea Lion
-
Steller's Sea Eagle
-
Stick Insect
-
Stingray
-
Styxosaurus Snowii
-
Sumatran Rhinoceros
-
Sun Bear
-
Tapir
-
Tarantula
-
Tasmanian Devil
-
Thescelosaurus Neglectus
-
Thick-Billed Murre
-
Thomson's Gazelle
-
Three-Toed Sloth
-
Tiger Salamander
-
Tiger Shark
-
Toucan
-
Triceratops Horridus
-
Triggerfish
-
Troodon Formosus
-
Tundra Swan
-
Tusotheuthis Longa
-
Two-Toed Sloth
-
Tylosaurus Proriger
-
Tyrannosaurus Rex
-
Velociraptor Mongoliensis
-
Wallaby
-
Wallace's Flying Frog
-
Walrus
-
Warthog
-
Warty Newt
-
Wasp
-
Water Buffalo
-
Web-Footed Gecko
-
Weddell Seal
-
Western Lowland Gorilla
-
Whale Shark
-
White-Eared Kob
-
White Rhinoceros
-
White-Tailed Deer
-
Whooping Crane
-
Wildebeest
-
Wild Turkey
-
Wolf
-
Wolverine
-
Wood Stork
-
Xiphactinus Audax
-
Zebra
Advertisement
The Innovators Project
-
Alan Guth: Waiting for the Big Bang
Three decades ago, the innovative physicist had a eureka moment that explained the universe.
Special Ad Section
From the Magazine
-
Gannets Pictures
Champion divers but clumsy landers, doting parents but hostile neighbors—northern gannets abound in contradictions.
-
Estonia's Ural Owls
Photographer Sven Začek provides an intimate view of this large raptor.