EC 1580 • December 2005 $1.00

TamiasTownsend’s townsendii Chipmunk by S.K. Headley and S. Sells

o you know how to tell the dif- intruders such as people, predators, and ference between a chipmunk and a other chipmunks. If you are lucky, you squirrel? Hereʼs a hint: look at might see a chipmunk sitting on a stump Dtheir faces. Chipmunks, unlike squirrels, or log. Sometimes they sun themselves on have stripes along their heads and faces. low branches. Or you might see them run- Some squirrels have stripes on their body, ning up a tree or into a burrow with their but there are no squirrels with striped tail held straight up. faces. Townsendʼs chipmunks are consid- Townsendʼs chipmunks are shyer than ered ecologically beneficial because they other chipmunks, so watch carefully for spread the spores of fungi around the them. Listen for their call—a fast, high- forest on their feet and in their feces. As pitched series of “chip, chip, chip.” It may fungi grow, they help the forest by provid- sound like a birdʼs call muffled by bushes. ing nutrients to the trees. Their call sometimes is used to warn of When forest companies replant trees after logging, they sometimes consider chipmunks to be a problem because they eat Douglas-fir seeds. In reality, by cach- ing, or storing, the seeds they collect, chipmunks sometimes plant new trees. Other animals eat chipmunks. Predators such as long-tailed weasels and minks eat Townsendʼs chipmunks. Other predators include house cats, bobcats, foxes, mar- tens, skunks, hawks, owls, and snakes. House cats eat chipmunks, so watch your cat! Put a bell on your catʼs collar to warn chipmunks and other animals that your cat is nearby.

Sandra K. Headley and Sarah Sells, students in Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University.

Chipmunks sometimes can be seen scurrying up a tree trunk or sunning themselves on a branch. Species description 1 The Townsendʼs chipmunk is a 1 ⁄4 inch tracks rodent. The term rodent means to with five toes. If gnaw. you are lucky Townsendʼs chipmunks are dark enough to brown with five dark and four lighter spot a stripes on their back. The middle chip- stripe is very dark brown, with alter- munkʼs nating light and dark stripes on either tracks, side of the center stripe. There are you might be able to follow the three brown and two gray stripes on tracks to a burrow! their face. The sides of the body are Townsendʼs chipmunks are diur- reddish brown. Their long, bushy tail nal, meaning they are active during is dark brown to blackish on top and the day. They tend to stay hidden in brown below. thick vegetation. To escape danger, In the Coast Range and the west- they may climb trees or dive into ern valleys, the light-colored stripes their burrows. When they run, they are cinnamon brown. In the Cascade hold their tail straight up in the air. Range, the light-colored stripes are Chipmunks have cheek pouches dull white to cream. like hamsters. They stuff their cheek Townsendʼs chipmunk is the pouches full of seeds to take back largest chipmunk in Oregon, at to their burrow. You may see them 3 8 ⁄4 to 11 inches long, including picking up seeds under a birdfeeder. a 3- to 5- inch tail. They weigh Female chipmunks usually give 2 to 4 ounces. They live as long as birth to three to six young in their 7 years, possibly more. Townsendʼs burrows in May and June. Newborns 1 chipmunks live in underground bur- are about 2 to 2 ⁄2 inches long and 1 rows that are about 2 inches across weigh only ⁄10 of an ounce, about as and 5 feet long. In places where it much as a dime. snows, chipmunks usually hibernate The young are born with their in the winter after putting on extra eyes closed. They do not have hair body fat. In the Coast Range, where or teeth, but they do have well- there is less snow, Townsendʼs chip- developed claws. They begin grow- munks usually do not hibernate. ing hair immediately, and their Look for chip- stripes are visible after 4 days. Their munk tracks. eyes open after 4 weeks. Their front feet Mother chipmunks nurse their leave small young until about the time they leave round tracks the burrow in July or August. The with four toes. young chipmunks will be old enough Their hind to have their own litters the follow- feet leave about ing summer.

2 Where they live and why Townsendʼs chipmunks are found in sometimes live in more open areas along southwestern British Columbia and west- the ridges of mountains. ern Washington and Oregon. In Oregon, Townsendʼs chipmunks eat a variety they are found from the Cascade Range to of foods. In the summer and fall, they eat the coast. berries such as blackberries, salal berries, Townsendʼs chipmunks live in dense and thimbleberries. In the late fall, they hardwood forests and humid conifer- eat acorns, huckleberries, maple seeds, ous forests (forests with evergreen trees thistle seeds, grain seeds, grass, roots, and such as firs, hemlocks, and pines). Within conifer seeds. In the winter, they search coniferous forests, they like riparian areas for fungi, which they find by smell and along streams, or chaparral areas with dig up to eat. Chipmunks also eat insects, dense shrubs. Townsendʼs chipmunks especially beetles.

Creating habitat Before changing the logs, pile pruned branches natural habitat, see what or other woody materials is already there. Leave from your yard. Alterna- thick ground vegeta- tively, you can make a rock tion, bushes, and trees pile by using large rocks that produce berries, at the base and then piling seeds, or nuts. Chip- more rocks on top. Fallen munks also like old-growth trees and dead leaves can be piled over the trees called snags. Because it takes a long top of brush and rock piles time for these habitat elements to develop, to encourage animals to it is important to preserve them. hibernate there.

You can plant vegetation to provide Make the piles , R. Link more cover and food sources. You could away from roads add berry plants native to your area, in a warm, sunny tanoak, bigleaf maple, California laurel, location if sum- Douglas-fir, hemlock, or spruce. mers are cool, or in To make a chipmunk feeder, place a flat a partially shaded tray on the ground. Scatter natural foods location if summers such as nuts and berries on the tray. Put are hot and dry. the feeder in an area near cover so the Limit the use of chipmunks can escape from predators. pesticides in your You can also make brush pile shelters habitat area, since 1 Northwest in the Pacific Wildlife Landscaping for for chipmunks. Place logs about ⁄2 to some chemicals can 1 foot apart, and then build another layer harm chipmunks perpendicular to the first. On top of the and other animals. You can make a brush or rock pile

to provide habitat for chipmunks. Illustration from

3 Fun facts Chipmunks have stripes on their heads, while squirrels do not. Chipmunks stuff their cheek pouches full of seeds to take back to their burrow. Chipmunks sometimes enter buildings. Cover holes and cracks with thick wire mesh screens to keep them out. When chipmunks run, they hold their tail straight up in the air.

Learn more! Csuti, B.A., T.A. OʼNeil, M.M. Shaugh- Maser, C. 1998. Mammals of the Pacific nessy, E.P. Gaines, and J.C. Hak. 2001. Northwest: From the Coast to the High Atlas of Oregon Wildlife: Distribution, Cascades. Oregon State University, Habitat, and Natural History. Oregon Corvallis, OR. State University Press, Corvallis, OR. National Wildlife Federation E-Nature Link, R. 1999. Landscaping for Wildlife website (http://www.enature.com/) in the Pacific Northwest. Washington Verts, B.J. and L.N. Carraway. 1998. Department of Fish and Wildlife. Land Mammals of Oregon. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Youth, H. 1997. Enjoying Squirrels More (Or Less!). Bird Watcherʼs Digest. Pardson Corporation, Marietta, OH.

Additional wildlife publications in Oregon 4-H this series are available on the OSU Wildlife Extension Service website at Stewards http://extension.oregonstate.edu (choose “Publications”). © 2005 Oregon State University.

Track illustrations are used courtesy of Kim A. Cabrera.

This publication was produced and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Extension work is a cooperative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State Univer- sity Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials—without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability, or disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran status. Oregon State University Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Published December 2005.