Chipmunk

December 20, 2024

One of the casualties of building my raised beds was the wood pile located along the back fence. This wood had been stacked when Melissa and her parents used the raised fire pit that sits adjacent. We have not used the fire pit (or wood) in the six years we have been back, and it was beginning to deteriorate. This was the perfect wood for the bottom layer of the raised beds. As I transferred the wood to the beds I encountered a variety of critters. There was a small Texas Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi texana) hiding in the pile and toward the bottom I encountered several of the invasive earth worms (Lumbricus terrestris) that repopulated North America along with the European colonists. As I continued to work a small furry critter darted out of the wood pile and into the refuge in the next yard. had noticed the chipmunk on several previous occasions as it foraged beneath the bird feeders.

When I looked online, I found the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a species endemic to eastern North America and the only living member of the genus Tamias. The name probably comes from the Ojibwe word “ajidamoo”, translating as “one who descends trees headlong.” The species was first described by Mark Catesby in 1743 and was eventually classified as Sciurus striatus by Linnaeus (Latin, “striped squirrel”). The scientific name was changed to Tamias striatus (“striped steward”) by Johann Illiger in 1811. The chipmunk reaches about 12 inches (30 cm) long including its tail and weighs 2.3 to 5.3 ounces (66 to 150g). It has reddish-brown fur on its upper body and five dark brown stripes contrasting with light brown stripes along its back. The fur of its lower body is lighter with a tawny stripe running from its whiskers to below its ears and light stripes over its eyes. The eastern chipmunk has two fewer teeth than other chipmunks, four toes on each front leg, and five toes on the hind legs. There is no external difference in appearance between the sexes except for genitalia. The eastern chipmunk lives in deciduous wooded areas and urban parks throughout the eastern US and southern Canada, preferring rocky areas, brush, log piles, and shrubs for cover.

I had not seen the chipmunk since removing the wood pile and forgot about it. Over the last month Loki has been going crazy every time we have let him out back. From the frantic way he was acting I figured there was some critter living under the ramp off our back door. When I mentioned this to Melissa, she said she thought she had seen a rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurry under the porch when she let the kids out in the morning. I poked around with a stick to see if I could scare the rat out, but it never budged. Last week the mystery was solved. I was up early and let the kids out and saw a flash as something tried to speed from beneath the feeder back under the ramp. I recognized the animal as a chipmunk and tried to keep Loke from grabbing it. It finally reached safety as Loki scratched, sniffed, and whined around the ramp. Melissa now makes a point of making noise before she lets the kids into the yard, giving the chipmunk time to scurry back to safety.

THOUGHTS: I was relieved when I found out we had a chipmunk rather than a rat. I have liked chipmunks since I encountered them as a boy around the picnic sites in the Rocky Mountains. Even though rats and chipmunks are both rodents, these smaller cousins seem cute and innocuous while rats seem menacing. Perhaps it is a throwback to the Black Plague that ravaged Europe and was blamed on the fleas carried by rats. I read an article last week suggesting it was more likely it was the human fleas that spread the disease rather than the rats (Europe was not very sanitary). Humans tend to have similar reactions when encountering other cultures. If they are welcoming or meek they are deemed ok, even if often taken advantage of. If they stand up or hold their ground, they are deemed a threat and often eliminated. Whether it is rats, chipmunks, or other humans, perspective changes how we treat them. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.