![]() No other member of the squirrel family in Georgia has stripes on its back or head like the Eastern Chipmunk. The Eastern chipmunk is common, and is frequently seen in suburban habitats. ![]() The Eastern Chipmunk is found in forests of the Piedmont and mountains of northern Georgia, and ranges over the forested eastern half of the United States, except on the southeastern Coastal Plains. The Eastern Chipmunk is eaten by predators such as foxes, hawks, and snakes. ![]() This habit of burying seeds and nuts helps in the dispersal of many forest trees. It may also bury food in shallow excavations on the forest floor. Once these pouches are full, the Chipmunk returns to its burrow and stores the food in underground chambers to eat during the winter months when food may be scarce. As it forages, it crams food into pouches in its cheeks. It eats acorns, hickory nuts, pecans, berries, seeds, and insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, katydids, and cicadas. The Eastern Chipmunk is diurnal, except during long periods of freezing or extreme winter weather, when it becomes inactive and remains in the nest. Other chambers are dug for food storage and for disposal of excess soil from tunnel building. The nest may be as much as 0.9 m (3 ft) below the soil surface and 1.8 - 3.7 m (6 - 12 ft) away from the burrow entrance. The main nest chamber is about 25.4 cm (10 in) in diameter and is lined with dried leaves. It digs a burrow system which is a complex of tunnels with two or three burrow entrances hidden under a rock, log, or bank. The Eastern Chipmunk is basically a ground dweller, but will readily climb trees. The preferred habitat for this species is deciduous forests, forest edges, and wooded rocky ravines. At this time they become independent of the female. Most of the eastern chipmunks diet is made up of nuts, acorns, seeds, mushrooms, fruits, berries and corn. It can also be found in bushy areas and in rocky areas like walls near houses and other buildings. The eastern chipmunk lives in open deciduous forests and at the edges of woodlands. Young open their eyes at 30 days and are weaned at 2 months of age. The eastern chipmunk is found throughout New Hampshire. A second litter is born in July or August. The short, bushy tail is held straight up when the animal runs.Ī mature Eastern Chipmunk can breed twice a year, beginning in March, with the first litter of 2-7 (usually 4-5) young being born in April after a 31-day gestation period. This is a small, ground-dwelling squirrel whose sharp chattering chuck-chuck-chuck is often heard before the animal is seen. sibiricus) is the only living member and Neotamias, which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western, species. The Eastern Chipmunk is 20.3 - 25.4 cm (8 - 10 in) in total length including its tail, which is just 7.6 - 10.2 cm (3 - 4 in) long. The genus Tamias was formerly divided into three subgenera that, in sum, included all chipmunk species: Tamias, the eastern chipmunk and other fossil species Eutamias, of which the Siberian chipmunk (E. Stripes on the face distinguish this species from all other mammals over most of its range. The belly and sides are buff to white, and the tail is blackish above and rusty below. The fur on the back is reddish brown, with 5 conspicuous black stripes that run down the back and sides and end at a reddish rump.
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