Kansas Mammal Atlas

Distribution:
Eastern Chipmunks inhabit the extreme eastern part of Kansas, but are now only common in residential areas. In natural situations, they are likely to be found along wooded bluffs bordering the Missouri River and other waterways. Being mainly a ground-loving mammal (although it readily climbs trees), it inhabits the floor of deciduous forests where the ground is covered with fallen logs and where trees are associated with ledges and outcrops. Two subspecies occur in Kansas, the north-eastern Tamias striatus griseus, and southeastern Tamias striatus venustus.

(, Museum Voucher) (, Observation) (, Literature Record)
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• Occurrence Summary:  
• 19 Total Records 
• 16 Museum Vouchers 
• 3 Other Observations 

Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Anderson (1); Cherokee (1); Douglas (1); Johnson (2); Leavenworth (11); Phillips (1); Pottawatomie (1); Wyandotte (1);

Natural History:
Eastern chipmunks may be active throughout the year, although it may retire to its nest during periods of continuous freezing or inclement weather in winter, and become torpid. Winter torpor (hibernation) is infrequent in the southern part of the species' range. It is active only during the daytime when it is often seen running from one lookout point to another. At other times it may sit inconspicuously or may attract attention by calling nervously in a continuous series of high-pitched chirps with trail flipping from side to side, sometimes for several minutes at a time. Once it leaves its lookout point it moves rapidly. When not inspecting intruders, it gathers and stores food, which seems to be its obsession. When not active above ground, the eastern chipmunk spends its time in a nest excavated 0.75-0.9 meters underground that is connected by tunnels to the surface or to food storage chambers. The nest entrance is inconspicuously placed, generally by a log or rock and without a sign of excavated soil. The nest tunnel leads down at a steep angle for a third of a meter or so and then levels out for two to four meters to the nest which is usually a large cavity and houses the nest proper and stored food. Lateral burrows are made to dispose of dirt from building or re-forming the tunnels systems. The soil is widely spread on the surface of the ground and the hole is then plugged with dirt from the inside of the tunnel. The subterranean activities of the chipmunk add nutrients to the soil, as well as assisting soil aeration.
Adults may attain the following dimensions: total length 239-299 mm; tail 90-110 mm; hind foot 35-38 mm; ear 12-19 mm; weight 88-122 grams.
The eastern chipmunk consumes the vegetation found in the oak-hickory forest, including nuts (acorns, hickory nuts, hazel nuts), berries, seeds, and invertebrate life associated with forests. Food for storage is packed into cheek pouches with its front feet while it sits on its hind feet, and is transported to caches in subterranean chambers. This mammal is frequently seen drinking from streams or isolated pools of water.
Breeding takes place in March, and mating chases are spirited, with several males pursuing a female. After a gestation period of about thirty days, two to seven young (usually four or five) are born. They are hairless, and their eyes are closed. Adult females may bear a second litter later in the summer, but some yearling females have only one litter. The young are able to leave the nest about a month after their eyes open. At about one and a half months the young begin to look like adults and are encountered above ground. At two months of age they become independent of the female who has been the sole provider since their birth.

Occurrence Activity:

Remarks:
Most diurnal and crepuscular mammalian and avian predators capture this animal. Longevity of the eastern chipmunk is three to five years in nature but they have a potential age of at least eight years. This genus contains a number of related species which occupy the northern Great Plains westward into the highest elevations of the Rocky Mountain chain and then on to the Pacific coast.

Bibliography:

Account Last Updated:
7/13/2017 10:14:28 AM