Chipmunk is a small thrifty rodent. Chipmunk animal

12.12.2016

Hibernation is a genetically incorporated adaptation of organisms to temperature extremes. This is the process of slowing down the metabolism in animals and plants during a period when there is no access to food and other sources of life. In winter, animals that cannot leave their cold habitat hibernate. So what kind of animals hibernate in winter time?

“Sleeping like a groundhog” - this expression arose not in vain, because the animal spends 2/3 of the year (up to 9 months) in a state of slow metabolism. He prepares for hibernation in advance, accumulates fat. Usually, they are quite mobile, just before hibernation they run and walk a little, and a few days before sleep they stop eating altogether. Having closed the entrance and huddled in the "bedroom", the family remains motionless for a long time. About two breaths and 3-5 heart beats per minute (whereas in summer their pulse is 88-140 beats), their temperature often drops to 0 ° C - how can you turn around.

They make a bed for themselves from moss and tree bark; in Siberia, forest giants dig a hole for themselves in a hard-to-reach place (near a swamp, under a root fallen tree), the entrance is often covered with branches, brushwood or moss. They do not forget to leave an outlet. Before falling into hibernation, they eat fat. Where they grow cedar pines, clubfoot gorge themselves with their nuts. The bear seems to be sleeping lightly, but he does not feel what is under his nose. Voles, collecting raw materials for their nests, “cut out” entire paths from brown wool.

Badgers live in the steppe, forest and desert, where they build their impressing structures - burrows with many burrows, exits and entrances, which are often located tens of meters from each other. In such places, animals love loneliness and do not allow relatives to visit them. By winter, badgers store a lot of fat. Old males gain up to 32 kg of weight. Where winters are cold, they sleep from October to April.

In October-November, the common hedgehog settles down to spend the winter in a hole or between the roots of trees. His dwelling usually has two exits, one of which is plugged with dry leaves. Having dragged moss and foliage inside the hole in his mouth, laying everything in a loose lump, he curls up and sleeps there until April. The hedgehog's body cools down in hibernation, but its temperature never drops below 5 °C. During this period, the animal does not eat anything. If the hedgehog inadvertently wakes up ahead of time, for example, during a thaw, it may die of hunger.

May go into a stupor when the temperature drops environment up to 10 °C, but this is not true hibernation. They remain relatively active, but all indicators of their body's metabolism slow down to a minimum. Outwardly, this is manifested in the rigor of the body and immobility for several hours a day. Hamsters spend the rest of the day looking for food.

In the northern and middle latitudes, these creatures spend the winter in deep hibernation, lasting up to 7 months, wrapped in wings. During the thaw, mice sometimes wake up and even fly. During hibernation, their body temperature drops to 10 ° C or lower (in the active state it exceeds 40 ° C), therefore, in severe frosts the bats often die of hypothermia.

The design of the ground squirrel's hole is simple and practical: an inclined passage clogged with earth for the winter, and from the nesting chamber a vertical spur goes up, slightly not reaching the surface. So he can hear everything and safely at the same time. The gopher sleeps up to 6.5 months a year in a characteristic position - sitting on its hind legs, bending its head to the abdomen and covering itself with its tail.

In the cold regions of the Earth, when the ambient temperature drops to 6-9 ° C, land (grass and moor) and water (lake) frogs prepare for hibernation. The lake frog partially burrows into the silt at the bottom of the reservoir, while its terrestrial counterparts seek secluded places in the burrows of other animals, under the roots of trees, in cellars, etc. There they remain in a state of stupor until the onset of spring.

In autumn, chipmunks prepare their nest. If there is a good hole under the roots, they use it; if not, they will dig a simple hole with a corridor, pantries, a living room and a latrine. Chipmunks carry nuts in their cheek pouches, stocking them in several pantries. He sleeps not as soundly as a gopher or groundhog, he remembers the accumulated good. Wakes up from time to time, eats a few nuts and goes back to sleep.

These animals sleep a lot, in moderate climate zone up to eight months a year. Some of their species prefer to winter in underground dwellings or hollows, others make nests in trees. There are species sleeping large groups, and in an unusual position - on his back, covering his bellies with his tails. As with all sleeping animals, the body temperature drops and the heartbeat slows down.

This list does not include all animals that hibernate during an unfavorable period of the year. After all, hibernation happens not only in winter, but also in summer. If we talk about a protective reaction from the cold, then this way of waiting for the unfavorable season is also used, for example: opossums, snakes, lizards, some turtles, bumblebees, American nightjars.

Animal chipmunk is a small rodent, it is a close relative of the squirrel. How does this striped animal differ from its fellows in the family? Where does he live and what does he eat?

There are 24 species of chipmunks, 23 of which live in North America and only 1 species in Eurasia. There are a lot of chipmunks in America; they live in Mexico and Alaska. Most rodents live in North America.

Eurasian chipmunks inhabited a vast area from the European regions of Russia to Northern China, Korea and Japan. Chipmunks also live in Central Europe, they were brought there as pets, but some representatives escaped and took root in wild nature.

Appearance

Chipmunk has small size. The body of the rodents is elongated, and the tail is fluffy and long, measuring 8-12 centimeters. In length, chipmunks grow up to 14-17 centimeters, and they weigh from 40 to 120 grams, depending on the species.

Chipmunks' front legs are shorter than their hind legs. All types of chipmunks have a common feature - dark stripes on the back, separated by stripes of white or grayish color. The rest of the skin has a gray-brown or reddish-brown color.

The coat is short and thick. Chipmunks change color at different times of the year. Moulting takes place annually from July to September. Chipmunks have small ears without tassels. Rodents have cheek pouches.

Chipmunks are very pretty creatures.

Where does the chipmunk live

These small animals live in North America and also inhabit the Eurasia continent.

Behavior and nutrition of chipmunks

Chipmunks live in wooded areas. They hide among the branches and twigs of fallen trees and windbreaks. Chipmunks live in close proximity to water, so most often chipmunks are found in thickets near streams and rivers.

Chipmunks are thrifty animals, they stock their burrows with food as much as space allows.

Chipmunks dig underground holes, although they can climb trees very well. When the dwelling is ready, the chipmunk carries the earth in its cheek pouches far from the hole, so that it is difficult for predators to find the shelter.

Chipmunks have long burrows. The burrow has a nesting area, several storage chambers and a couple of puffins that chipmunks use as latrines. Chipmunks line their living space with leaves and grass. Here the animals are comfortably located during the winter hibernation. Females use camera data to breed.

These rodents are herbivores.

Chipmunks are active during the day, but when the sun rises to its zenith, they seek shelter in burrows or among foliage. In dense forests with plenty of shade, chipmunks feed throughout the daylight hours.
When it gets colder, chipmunks rise to the surface less and less often, then they do not leave their holes at all. Chipmunks sleep from October to March.

These thrifty animals begin to collect food in the month of August. They fill their stores with nuts, acorns, wild seeds, oats, mushrooms and wheat. In this case, all products are placed on dry bedding in separate piles. The total amount of such stocks can reach 5-6 kilograms.

Chipmunks always live alone. If another member of the family enters the hole, then a fight breaks out between the chipmunks. In this regard, in captivity, these rodents are kept in separate cages.

Chipmunks, like squirrels, are very nimble animals.

How Chipmunks Reproduce

Chipmunks are solitary animals, only during the mating season, males form pairs with females. The female becomes pregnant 2 times a year. Babies are born once in May, and another time in August. Chipmunks living in cold areas have only one litter.

The pregnancy process lasts 1 month, after which 4-5 babies are born. In some cases, up to 10 cubs can be born. Newborns are blind and naked, their eyes open after 1 month after birth.

Mother feeds chipmunks with milk for 2 months. Young growth leaves mother already on the 3rd month of life. And in the first year of life, chipmunks become sexually mature. In the wild, chipmunks usually do not live more than 3 years, but in captivity, these rodents live up to 7-10 years.

Chipmunk is a small rodent of the squirrel family. Its length is up to 15 centimeters, and its tail is up to 12. It weighs up to 150 grams. It looks like a very cute and beautiful animal that you want to pick up, stroke and feed.

The name chipmunk comes from the characteristic sound called "breaker", made before the rain. Chipmunk looks similar to, only on the back it has five black stripes along the back. There are light stripes between them.

These animals have 25 species, but the most numerous and common three species are:

1. Chipmunk East American
2. Chipmunk squirrel or red squirrel
3. Siberian chipmunk (Eurasian)

Chipmunk Features

Their coat is gray-red in color, and on the abdomen - from light grayish to white. They shed once a year at the beginning of autumn, changing the fur to dense and warm. Their pulse rate reaches 500 beats per minute, and the respiratory rate is up to 200. The body temperature is normally 39 degrees. They are partially similar to a squirrel:

• The front legs are longer than the hind legs
• Big ears
• small claws

And also chipmunks look like some outward signs and behavior:

• They dig holes and live in them.
• They have cheek pouches.
• No tufts on the ears.
• Gets on its hind legs and monitors the situation.

Chipmunks are not aggressive, compared to squirrels, and quickly get used to people. Therefore, it is not rare cases of residence chipmunk in a cage at home.

Chipmunk Habitat

Most chipmunks live in northern deciduous forests. Siberian chipmunk spreading from Europe to Far East, and south to . Living in the taiga, chipmunks climb trees well, but the animals make their homes in a hole. The entrance to it is carefully disguised with leaves, branches, maybe in an old rotten stump, in a dense bush.

A burrow in animals up to three meters long with several dead-end compartments for pantries, toilets, accommodation and feeding of cubs in females. The living room is covered with dry grass. Chipmunks have large bags behind their cheeks, in which they carry food supplies for the winter, and also drag the earth away from it when digging holes for the purpose of camouflage.

Each chipmunk has its own territory, and it is not customary for them to violate its borders. The exception is the spring mating of a male and a female for procreation. During this period, the female convenes the males with a specific signal. They run and fight.

The female mates with the winner. After that, they disperse to their territories until next spring. The animals lead daytime look life. At dawn, they come out of their holes, climb trees, feed, bask in the sun, play. At nightfall, they hide in burrows. In autumn, I prepare food up to two kilograms for the winter, dragging them behind my cheeks.

Mid-October to April chipmunks sleep, curled up in a ball, and hide the nose to the abdomen. The tail covers the head. But in winter they wake up several times to eat and go to the toilet. Spring in sunny days the animals begin to crawl out of their holes, climb a tree and bask.

Chipmunks can spend the night right on a tree, covering themselves with their tail like a blanket.

Chipmunks are forest animals and interesting facts about them

When danger approaches, the animal stands on its hind legs and emits an intermittent whistle. For 15 meters from a predator or a person, a chipmunk runs away, continuing to whistle more often, taking danger away from the hole. Usually runs and hides in thick bushes or climbs a tree.

Listen to the chipmunk whistle

By whistling, you can recognize the animal is sitting or running. There are rumors that chipmunk suicidal animal. If someone ruins the animal's hole and eats all the supplies, then he finds a forked branch, sticks his head into this horn and hangs himself :). If this were so, then in the taiga one could see numerous gallows made of chipmunks. However, this is not observed.

About chipmunks it must be said that they sometimes become carriers of certain diseases dangerous to humans: tick-borne encephalitis and toxoplasmosis. But they themselves are prone to many diseases:

• Skin - dermatitis
• Cardiovascular from fright
• Respiratory. There is sneezing and fluid from the nose.
• Gastrointestinal
• traumatic

Use a chipmunk as pet in many families. He quickly adapts next to a person and behaves calmly. Being not non aggressive animals, in a few days chipmunk is already beginning to take food from the hands of a person. But for its maintenance at home, special conditions are needed:

• The cage must be at least 1 meter by 1 meter and 50 centimeters high
• Must have a wheel
• Inside the cage is a house for overnight stay with dimensions of 15 by 15 centimeters with a hole with a diameter of 3 centimeters. Lay the inside with dry grass.

In a cage, they live on the principle of a hole. In one corner they go to the toilet, in the other corner they put supplies. Though chipmunks animals forest, but they are unpretentious to food at home. They love all kinds of cereals, fruits, cookies, lumpy sugar, carrots. Animals need to be given chalk, boiled eggs.

The chipmunk itself is a clean animal, but you should sometimes remove supplies from his pantry, because they deteriorate. The presence of stocks indicates that the animal is full when feeding. After a few days, you can let him walk around the room. At home, the animals do not sleep in winter, but lead an active lifestyle, but offspring are very rare.

Reproduction and lifespan

With the onset of spring, the male and female mate, and a month later, babies from 5 to 12 appear. After mating, the female drives the male to her territory, and, in the future, brings up the cubs alone. Feeding babies lasts about two months. After that, they can exist independently.

• seeds
• Berries
• Cereals
• Mushrooms
• Leaves
• acorns
• nuts

Sometimes chipmunks take animal food: larvae, worms, insects. If a person plants vegetables near the dwelling of the animal, then the chipmunk will gladly eat cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes. On a grain field, he bites a stalk of cereal, picks out all the grains in his cheek pouches from a fallen spikelet in a matter of seconds, and runs away.

A chipmunk can hide a lot of grains behind its cheeks.

Animals make stocks in a hole, laying out different types to separate rooms. These bins are needed for spring, when there is practically little food. When the sun begins to warm well, the chipmunk pulls out the rest of the supplies to dry.

Chipmunks have become so beloved that their characters have appeared in cartoons: Chip and Dale and Alvin and the Chipmunks. And the cities of Krasnoturinsk and Volchansk in Sverdlovsk region have the image of a chipmunk on their coat of arms.

On the screen, viewers meet with a trinity of chipmunks speaking in a squeaky voice. They do not just talk, but also create a musical trio and perform chipmunks' songs. The film "The Chipmunks" glorified the musician Dave Saville, who wrote the songs for this series.

Chipmunks are cute rodents of the squirrel family, the closest relatives of ground squirrels and marmots. Of everything big family it is chipmunks that are most often kept at home.

Chipmunks: photo, appearance

There are usually three subgenera of chipmunks:

- Siberian (Asian), inhabiting Siberia, the Far East, the Urals, the North of the European part of Russia. Consists of one species Tamias sibiricus.

Siberian chipmunk Tamias sibiricus

- East American (eastern), living in the Northeast of North America. Also consists of one species Tamias striatus;

East American Chipmunk Tamias striatus

- the third subgenus - Neotamias, numerous species of which live on west coast North America.

The animal is small: length up to 17 cm, tail - up to 12 cm, weight - up to 110 g. It resembles a small squirrel in terms of structure. The general tone of the color is reddish-gray, the belly is grayish-white. The main decoration of a chipmunk is 5 longitudinal black stripes and a fluffy tail, although not as luxurious as a squirrel's. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front.

Chipmunks, like ground squirrels, hamsters, and some other rodents, have voluminous cheek pouches that are invisible to the eye when empty, and swollen when the thrifty animal stuffs various food into it. Pictured is a chipmunk with tightly stuffed cheek pouches.

Chipmunks are diurnal animals, their large, slightly protruding eyes provide the animals with a large viewing angle. It is the eyes that play leading role in protection from natural enemies, and wow, the animal has a great many - birds of prey, ermines, foxes, martens, etc.

All types of chipmunks are similar both in habits and appearance, only slightly differing in color and size. Very rare is the so-called "white" color (not to be confused with albinos), caused by the presence of a recessive gene.

Chipmunks: habitat, lifestyle

Chipmunks live in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, most often they can be found along the woodlands, along the edges, river valleys, in cluttered areas of the forest, where there is deadwood. They settle in the mountains up to the limit of the forest distribution. Avoids park-type forests without undergrowth and windfall, as well as swampy areas. Eastern chipmunk often lives among rocks and stony placers.

IN natural conditions chipmunks feed mainly on the seeds of various wild and cultivated plants, from time to time diversifying their diet with insects and molluscs. Animals perfectly climb trees, it is on trees that they get most provisions.

In dense grass, under fallen trees, their roots and stumps, chipmunks dig holes with many rooms, hiding the entrance among the branches of shrubs and stones.

Each animal has a separate dwelling, often chipmunks' burrows are close to each other, and even close to each other - animals can create entire colonies. But by nature, these animals are loners. Each has its own area, and violation of the boundaries of the latter leads to heated fights. In the grain fields you can often meet a large number of chipmunks, but still each of them tries to emphasize its isolation - the animals mark their areas with urine or body odor, which they leave when they rub their stomachs on the ground. Chipmunks strictly monitor that the neighbor does not violate the border.

The chipmunk's dwelling has all the necessary premises: an entrance hall, a bedroom, a pantry and even a restroom. The sleeping area is always well lined. The pantries store food supplies for the winter - seeds, cereals, acorns, nuts, etc. Each animal weighing 100 g collects from 2 to 8 kilograms of food supplies for the winter period!

It is clear that even a kilogram of provisions will be more than enough for the winter, but the instinct does not allow the rodent to sit still and makes the animal stock up, and the more the better. A neat rodent carefully sorts provisions and puts them in separate pantries. Chipmunks start harvesting in the second half of August. Stocks are carried like ordinary food, in cheek pouches, often overcoming a distance of more than a kilometer.

Winter hibernation in animals is long, from October to April, almost throughout the entire distribution area. All this time they spend in the sleeping area of ​​their hole, sometimes waking up in order to refresh themselves. During the hibernation period, as a rule, chipmunks do not eat all the stocks, leaving most of them for a hungry spring. If any animal devastates chipmunk stocks (mainly bears sin with this), then wintering can end badly for the animal.

There are rumors that chipmunks are suicidal animals, they allegedly hang themselves on branches if their pantries are ruined. However, this is nothing more than the tales of Siberian hunters. Animals have an extremely developed instinct for self-preservation, and they cannot have such a thing as “commit suicide”.

After the chipmunks come out of hibernation, they start rutting. During this period, females announce their mating moods, calling on males with characteristic sounds similar to a thin whistle.

The time of gestation by the female of the cubs is 30-32 days. Usually 3 to 6 babies are born, rarely more. Chipmunks are born blind and without a coat, but the coat grows so fast that within 2 weeks after birth, each animal becomes the owner of a good striped fur. Around the twentieth day of life, the eyes of the cubs open. And after 4-5 weeks, when the feeding time ends, they first leave the hole. Animals reach puberty quite late - at the age of 11 months.

Keeping chipmunks at home

Among all rodents, chipmunks are perhaps the most suitable for the role of pets.

Chipmunk as a pet

As a pet, a chipmunk has many advantages. The animal does not require much space, does not have a specific "mouse" smell, is clean (it is enough to clean the cage once a week), and most importantly, the chipmunk is active during the day and sleeps peacefully at night, which compares favorably with many other rodents that lead night image life. Caring for a chipmunk is not burdensome, and you don’t need to rack your brains over compiling a diet - a chipmunk is omnivorous, it is easy to provide food for it.

Chipmunk is trusting and easily makes contact with a person. To tame it, you just need to constantly feed it from your hands. True, if you do not pay attention to him for some time, all skills are forgotten, and you will have to re-establish "friendly ties".

At home, a chipmunk can live up to ten years, while in natural environment his lifetime is not long - no more than three or four years.

Among the shortcomings, one can note the possibility of falling into hibernation and aggression towards brethren in the winter in the event that hibernation did not take place. In nature, hibernation in these animals lasts from autumn to the end of March. Chipmunks living in an apartment become slower during this period. It happens that they do not leave their houses for a long time, but periodically wake up to stretch their bones and refresh themselves. In addition, the animals are too curious, so you can’t let them out of the cage and leave them unattended.

Joint keeping of chipmunks

Females get along easily, but when males are kept together, conflicts are usually inevitable. Males and females are recommended to be placed in the same cage only if you want to get offspring. If you're planning to breed chipmunks, don't breed from the same litter!

The natural desire to save their supplies from their relatives explains the relationship between chipmunks. From spring to the end of summer, the animals are set up quite peacefully; in captivity, sometimes during this period a couple or a brood of rodents can be kept in common cage(although it's better not to). But by the end of August - September, they become very intolerant of their cage neighbors and constantly fight. It happens that during this period relations even with the owner deteriorate, because the chipmunk needs to protect the supplies for the winter from “strangers”.

Housing for chipmunks

Chipmunks are very nimble and active animals; in nature, in 1 hour they are able to run a distance of more than 12 km. In order to satisfy the need for movement of such active pets, the cage must be spacious enough - at least 50 cm long, 50 cm wide and 100 cm high. A meter height is necessary because chipmunks love to climb up. If the cage contains two animals, the size of the cage should be at least doubled.

The cage must be metal with nickel-plated rods, the distance between the rods is not more than 1.5 cm. Inside the cage, it is necessary to install branches along which the animal could climb. A sleeping house is another necessary accessory, its minimum dimensions are 15 × 15x15 cm, the diameter of the inlet is at least 3 cm. It is better if the house is made of wood. If several animals are kept in a cage, then a separate house should be provided for each. For easy cleaning, the floor of the cage can be made in the form of a drawer. It is recommended to use peat as bedding, sawdust is also suitable.

Make sure that the cage has feeders, an automatic ball drinker and a running wheel (choose a wheel from 18 cm in diameter, with a solid surface).

Even if there is a sufficiently spacious and equipped with everything necessary housing, chipmunks periodically need to be let out of the cage for a walk, otherwise they develop a monotonous movement - the animal jumps from the floor to the wall of the cage, from the wall to the ceiling and down again. And so endlessly. This behavior of the chipmunk suggests that he does not have enough living space. But do not forget that while walking for a curious animal, you need an eye and an eye!

Chipmunks are hard to bear high temperature and can even die from overheating, being under the scorching rays of the sun. Therefore, it is better to keep the cage in a shaded place. But you should not completely deprive your pet of the sun either. Sometimes, in the mornings, when the sun is not yet hot, you can put the cage on the windowsill. There must be a place in the cage where the animal can hide from the sun.

hibernation

As already mentioned, nature is arranged in such a way that under natural conditions in winter, chipmunks hibernate. When keeping chipmunks at home, hibernation may not take place, especially if the animals are kept at a constant room temperature. It's just that the animal becomes less active, rarely leaves its shelter. But if you have a couple of animals, and next summer you want to get offspring from them, hibernation will need to be artificially arranged by lowering the temperature in the room where the pets are kept to + 5- + 10 C. Such is the physiology of these animals, without hibernation of the female, the appearance of offspring unlikely.

Chipmunk feeding

A complete chipmunk diet consists of dry food and succulent food with small additions of animal proteins.

Dry food

The share of dry food in the diet of a rodent should be about 70%. Today, in specialized stores, you can find ready-made food for chipmunks, and a feed mixture designed for squirrels or hamsters is also suitable for them. But it is better to choose products from well-known, trusted manufacturers, such as Fiory, Padovan, Beaphar. These foods will provide your striped rodent with almost everything they need.

Chipmunks enjoy eating all kinds of nuts. But keep in mind that almonds should not be given to animals - they contain harmful hydrocyanic acid. Nuts, except for pine nuts, are given peeled. Oat flakes, seeds, acorns, cereals, branch shoots - all this will serve as an excellent and healthy food for your striped pet.

Juicy food

Juicy food - green parts of plants, berries, fruits and vegetables - should make up about 30% of the animal's diet.

Fruits and green food should be thoroughly washed and peeled, as the animals are susceptible to pesticides.

Protein supplement

Twice a week, a striped pet is given a protein supplement. In this capacity, crickets, zofobos, flour worms, grasshoppers, slugs are suitable. Some individuals are not averse to tasting low-fat cottage cheese, eggs, boiled chicken (fatty meat and poultry should not be given).

Despite the fact that the animal will eat almost everything, no matter what is offered to it, food from the human table, such as sausage, sweets, etc. sooner or later lead to health problems. Chipmunks, like most rodents, are contraindicated in fried, baked, salty, sour, sweet (the exception is a drop of honey, which can sometimes be pampered by a pet), salt, spices and preservatives.

Remember to keep fresh water in the cage at all times.

Regularly check the chipmunk pantries so that the accumulated food does not start to spoil. By the number of stocks, you can determine whether the chipmunk receives enough food.

If you decide to have this handsome man at home, then we do not recommend buying a chipmunk from your hands or in the bird market - it is likely to bring home a sick and wild animal. It is better to spend time looking for a good breeder - this way you will get a vigorous, healthy and tame chipmunk, and in addition, you will be able to get competent advice on care and maintenance.

When talking about chipmunks, many people, especially children, think of the Disney chipmunks Chip and Dale or the famous singing chipmunks. Although the Disney ones are shown in cartoons with one gross mistake, the real chipmunks do not have a short tail, but a long one, like a squirrel, although not as fluffy.

Red chipmunk (Tamias rufus) from Utah (USA)

The chipmunk itself also looks like a squirrel, only smaller in size. There is nothing surprising in such a resemblance, because these animals are relatives belonging to the same squirrel family. Chipmunk lives in coniferous forests: in thickets of bushes, on the edges - wherever there are a lot of fallen trees.

These small cute animals can be found on the territory of our country in the forest regions of Siberia, the Far East, Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

Scientists know of 25 species of chipmunks, most of which live in North America. On the territory of our country there is only one species - the so-called Asian or Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus).

Siberian chipmunk. Photo: Soren Brondum Christensen

The length of the elongated body of a chipmunk does not exceed 20 centimeters. The tail is fluffy, the hind legs are longer than the front. Distinctive feature This forest dweller has a beautiful reddish-gray fur coat with black longitudinal stripes along the back.

Favorite food - pine nuts. Chipmunks also feed on needles, herbaceous plants, acorns, rose hips, mushrooms, seeds and buds of shrubs and trees. Sometimes they can eat insects or medium-sized vertebrates.

In search of food, the chipmunk is able to travel long distances. The animal has a lot of worries: not only to find food for itself, but also to stock up for the winter. So the chipmunk collects acorns and nuts in the forest and takes them to his pantry. Very capacious pouches behind the cheeks, which the rodent fills with a variety of food, serve as “pockets”.

Chipmunk with peanuts

Chipmunk cheeks act as pockets

A chipmunk equips a hole in crevices between stones or under tree roots, or occupies an empty hollow. But often the dwelling for this animal is an underground hole, in which there are several "rooms": a bedroom, a pantry, and even a toilet! Don't be surprised: a chipmunk is a big tidy.

The chipmunk's pantry is chock-full of food. For several months, it accumulates about five or even ten kilograms of provisions. Moreover, a smart animal does not dump everything into one big pile, but sorts it according to some principle known only to it.

Long-eared chipmunk (Tamias quadrimaculatus) lives in the Sierra Nevada

Pine Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus)

Having carefully prepared for the winter, the chipmunk hibernates. True, his sleep is not as strong as, for example, that of a bear. From time to time, the animal wakes up, eats a little, checks if everything is in place, and falls asleep again in a warm and cozy house. With the advent of spring, these animals do not suffer from a lack of food - they eat up the remaining winter stocks.

Chipmunks have one amazing feature: Can anticipate rain. A few hours before the onset of bad weather, the animal climbs onto a stump, sits on its hind legs and makes strange sounds resembling a sad song. This forest dweller really does not like rainy weather.

In late spring - early summer, chipmunks have offspring. Mother feeds blind helpless cubs with milk, warms and protects them from danger. Chipmunks are born most often five, but sometimes more - up to ten. They live hopelessly in the nest for quite a long time and only begin to show out when they are already quite grown up.

young chipmunks

At this time, you can see how the babies are looking for food among the grass near the hole, eating berries and seeds. different plants. Little by little they begin to scatter in different directions, but at first they do not go far. The mother closely watches them, remaining near the hole, and in case of danger, alarmingly “snorts”.

At this signal, the young with a response rush to her from all sides and hide in a hole. It happens that a chipmunk chooses a hollow for temporary housing, especially in early spring when he still does not have to take care of either the children or the preparations for the harsh winter.

Chipmunks can be kept at home as a pet, subject to certain rules: No more than one rodent in a cage, provide a varied diet, a running wheel is required. wild cubs chipmunks, having got to a person at an early age, are quickly tamed.