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Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

August 23, 2017 by

Tamias striatus
Pennsylvania Counties for Eastern Chipmunk

Common Name: Eastern Chipmunk

Scientific Name: Tamias striatus

Habitat: Open woodlands with plenty of downed logs or rock piles. It also tolerates life well around humans.

Diet: Mostly herbivorous, choosing a wide variety of berries and seeds.
Insects and small vertebrates are sometimes eaten as well.

Interesting Facts:
This small ground squirrel builds an extensive burrow system, with multiple entrances, where large caches of food are sometimes stored. Food may also be stored in a small hole which the chipmunk excavates and then covers. Unlike the gray squirrel that hides a single acorn in each hole, large stores may be transported in the cheeks of a chipmunk for storage at a single site. Trees are sometimes climbed in search of food.

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