Eastern chipmunk

It is diurnal. It uses habitats including deciduous woods, rocky slopes, brushy edges, stone walls and wooded neighbourhoods. It feeds on seeds, nuts, fruit, fungi, insects and other small foods.

Chipmunks forage above ground but retreat to burrows quickly. They use cheek pouches to carry food and spend much of winter in the burrow, waking periodically rather than remaining in one uninterrupted deep hibernation.

Chipmunks transport large amounts of food in cheek pouches and store it in underground chambers for later use.

By gathering and caching seeds, chipmunks move nuts and other plant material through the forest floor. They are also a major prey item for snakes, hawks, foxes and small carnivores.

Cheek pouches let a chipmunk transport several food items at once without chewing them, making each exposed foraging trip shorter.

Breeding — mainly late winter to spring, with a possible second breeding period in summer.
Gestation — about 30–32 days.
Burrow young — usually 2–5 young remain below ground for about 4–6 weeks.
Independence — juveniles emerge, disperse and begin building their own food stores during summer.

• Do not use glue traps outdoors; chipmunks and other small wildlife can become trapped in them.
• Seal foundation openings after checking that no animal is inside.
• Protect bulbs or seedlings with buried hardware cloth where digging is a problem.
• Keep cats indoors or supervised in areas with active chipmunk burrows.

• Chipmunks store food because they sleep continuously all winter. They enter torpor but wake periodically and use stored food.
• A chipmunk with full cheeks has a facial swelling. Cheek pouches can expand dramatically when carrying seeds.
• Burrow openings always have obvious spoil piles. Chipmunks often carry excavated soil away, leaving entrances surprisingly inconspicuous.

• red-squirrel
• Eastern gray squirrel
• Groundhog