In Latin, the name of chipmunks is spelled Tamias. Regarding the Russian name, there are two versions of the origin. One of them is borrowing and transformation from the Tatar language, where “chipmunk” is written as “boryndyk”. The second option is the origin from the Mari word uromdok, but there are few adherents of this version.
Chipmunks are widespread in North America, they populate almost the entire continent. All existing species live there, with the exception of the Asian, or Siberian chipmunk, which is found in Eurasia and Russia.
Appearance
Depending on the species, the animals reach a size of 5 to 15 centimeters, the tail can be from 7 to 12 centimeters. Weight varies from 20 to 120 grams. All chipmunks have one thing in common - five stripes that are located on the back along the length.
The strips are separated by black or gray lines. The rest of the coat of the animal can be red-brown or black-brown. Due to the similarity in appearance, most types of chipmunks are difficult to distinguish from each other. In total, there are 3 types of rodents, but each of them is divided into 24 more subspecies, so deal withbelonging to a certain family can only be specialists.
Where do chipmunks live? Photo, species distribution area
As mentioned above, a large number of animals live in North America. The distribution of chipmunks is so wide that they are found both in central Mexico and in the Arctic Circle. The American chipmunk lives in the eastern part of the North American continent, while 23 subspecies live in the western part.
It is interesting to know where the chipmunk lives, in which zone of Russia. This is the Far East, the Magadan region, the island of Sakhalin. Rare, but found in Kamchatka. But most of all he liked the cedar and broad-leaved forests of Primorsky Krai. In good years, the number of animals per 1 square km is 200-300 pieces.
In central Europe, there are chipmunks that escaped from the farms where they are bred and were able to adapt to the wild. The last species is the small chipmunk, which inhabits the territory of Canada.
Habitats
Chipmunks belong to the squirrel family and look like squirrels. However, there is a big difference between the two species. Squirrels prefer to spend a lot of time in trees, while chipmunks settle on the ground. Most often they are found in forests, but sometimes they settle in open areas overgrown with shrubs.
The forests where the chipmunk lives, in which zone, depend on the location. For example, in America - these are deciduous forests widespread in New England, in Russia - taiga, and Canada - coniferous forests.
Despite the fact that chipmunks live on the ground, they need trees. As a rule, where chipmunks live, there are windbreaks, a large amount of deadwood, and the ground is covered with plants in which it is convenient to hide.
These are the places that chipmunks are looking for, and if there are no trees in the area, but bushes cover the ground densely, then they can adapt here. Another important requirement is the presence of a nearby reservoir. Therefore, you should look for where chipmunks live in nature in the forests - on the banks of rivers and lakes.
Rodent dwelling
In order to make a house, a chipmunk digs a hole for itself. Its length can reach 3 m, burrows always branch. There are always two branches in the hole that end in dead ends - these are the animal's toilets.
There are always several pantries for supplies and living quarters. In them, rodents line the floor with leaves. Here they sleep in winter and at night, and also here their children are born and grow up. When they dig a hole, they hide the earth behind their cheeks and carry it away from the place where they live. Chipmunks in the forest hide the entrance to the hole carefully. It is located under deadwood, in thickets of bushes, under an old rotten stump. Finding a mink without the help of a dog is almost impossible.
Rodent life
Chipmunks love warmth and hate rain. That is why they show up in warm weather and frolic when they are warm. The exception is species that live in places with constant rainfall.
In winter, animals hibernate, but not as much as gophers. They wake up periodicallysupported by stocks from the pantries. A chipmunk sleeps with its muzzle on its belly or wrapped around its flexible tail.
In early spring, the inhabitants of the minks, which are located on sunny slopes and are the first to be freed from snow, go out to explore. At this time, the chipmunks are still inactive, spend two to three hours outdoors and prefer to bask in the sun. Most often they can be seen on the tops of trees in the sun.
At this time, the chipmunks do not go far from the hole. They eat buds on nearby plants or eat up winter stocks. When the sun warms up, rodents pull out damp stocks and put them to dry in the sun. If warm days give way to cold again, the animals go to the mink and wait for the real spring.
In summer, in the heat, chipmunks come out early enough, but so that the earth warms up. They do their business before the onset of the heat of the day, the second exit is in the evening. In places where the weather is constantly warm and there is no heat or cold, chipmunks can be observed all day. In autumn, the animals come out of their burrows after the air warms up. This continues until it gets quite cold.
Animals can't stand the rain and feel great about it. In places where chipmunks live, a few hours before the start of a rainstorm, they stand on stumps and make special sounds that are different from their usual “talking”.
Offspring
Chipmunks prefer to live alone and jealously guard their apartments. During periods of mating, they communicate withopposite sex, after which offspring appear. This happens in May and then in August. In the spring, before the birth of offspring, a chipmunk can choose an old hollow as a home, because he does not have to think about wintering, and there are fewer enemies on the trees.
Siberian chipmunk brings offspring once. The number of newborns is 4-8 individuals. Their relatives from America give birth twice in 3-4 four cubs. Chipmunks become sexually mature already in the first year of life. In the wild, the life span of an animal is 3 years, in captivity the figure can reach 10 years.
Young chipmunks spend a long time in the nest. When they are old enough, they start looking for food near the entrance. Gradually begin to deepen further and further from the hole.
While the cubs are small, the female is not far from the entrance to the hole and, in case of danger, begins to snort anxiously. Then the children quickly run back, uttering an answering squeal.
Enemies
Little rodents have a lot of enemies. These are birds of prey, small animals, people and sometimes bears. The latter most often dig up the minks of chipmunks and eat their stocks. When an animal sees an enemy, it begins to squeak in alarm at certain intervals.
After that, the chipmunk lets the enemy in at a distance of 30 meters and carefully examines. In the event of a real danger, it starts to run, emitting a continuous frightened squeak. Chipmunks often hide from pursuersin thickets or trying to climb a tree. They do not lead their enemies to the mink.
Food
The main food of rodents is what he can get in the forest. This is mainly plant food, but sometimes there may be small insects. Chipmunks love to eat buds, grains, hazelnuts, plant shoots. If any cereals grow nearby, then the chipmunks are happy to eat grain from them.
Sometimes these animals can become real pests. With a small field located next to the hole where the chipmunks live in the forest, you can completely lose the crop. And all this by the forces of small rodents. In addition, chipmunks eat berries, mushrooms, apricots and other fruits carelessly planted by people next to the hole.
Winter supplies
Stocks of chipmunks are very diverse. All kinds of food that he can get around his hole are used. The supply is maintained throughout the entire period of wakefulness.
According to researchers, where chipmunks live in Russia, their winter food supply reaches about 6 kilograms. The animal divides all its food by appearance, and even the grain of different crops is in different piles. All food is piled on a bed of dry grass or leaves, and piles are separated from each other by partitions of foliage.
Interesting is grain extraction. If the ears do not grow too close, then the animal seeks out the plant richest in grain and jumps on it. Under the weight, the stem bends and, holding it with its paws, the chipmunk bites off itselfspikelet.
After that, he picks the grains, hides them behind his cheeks and runs into his mink. If the ears grow close and there is no way to tilt them, then the chipmunk bites the stem until it gets to the grains.
