Chipmunk

Description:

A burrowing ground squirrel with cheek pouches and light and dark stripes running down the body, found in North America

Habitat:

chipmunks spend most of their time on the ground. The burrows built by these chipmunks are complete with several chambers, and tunnels joining these chambers. Other than for living, the chipmunks also use these burrows to store their food. However, some species of chipmunks do prefer to stay on trees, among the logs, or in the bushes. Being food gatherers, chipmunks prefer an environment characterized by rocks, logs, bushes and dense undergrowth. This also helps them to save themselves from birds of prey like hawks, predatory animals like foxes and coyotes, and their urban predator - the house cat. Being omnivores, most often chipmunks feed on nuts, berries, seeds, and grains, but at times they are also known to feed on insects and eggs of birds. They also store this food in their burrows as a backup food source for cold winters. They transport this food by carrying it in their mouth. Chipmunks do hibernate, but they don't store fats. Instead they use their store of nuts collected throughout the year as food during hibernation. More importantly, they don't require to drink water so often as they get the required amount of water from their food itself. They are solitary in nature. An individual chipmunks range is spread over an area of half an acre, but when it comes to defending their area, adult males are only concerned with an area of about 50 meters around the burrow entrance.

Notes:

Found in Rocky Mountains