Wildlife Wednesday: The Eastern Chipmunk
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

For today’s Wildlife Wednesday, we are featuring the friendly Eastern Chipmunk. While staying at our Nova Scotia resort, you are sure to see chipmunks as their home is our home here along the Eastern Shore Nova Scotia.

Here are some interesting facts about chipmunks! Chipmunks spend most of their time on the ground; however, they are capable of climbing trees. Their typical habitats are in dry, hardwood forests and gardens. They create multiple burrow systems in the ground with tunnels to store food for the winter months such as nuts, seeds, berries and insects. One thing chipmunks are known for are their large cheek pouches which allow them to carry their food to their storage areas. They can carry up to 70 sunflower seeds, six chestnuts (three per side), 13 prune pits, 32 beechnuts and 31 kernels of corn.

Chipmunks are typically active during daylight hours from March to November and enter deep sleep for long periods during the winter. They are not true hibernators; they awaken a variety of times depending on how much food they collect the previous summer and fall.

Babies are born blind, with no fur and weighing only about three grams in April or early May with four to five in each litter. In only six short weeks, their fluffy tail and perfect fur coat will grow in, and they will look like every other adult chipmunk. Female chipmunks may also have a second litter in August!

To learn more about Eastern Chipmunks, please visit the Saltscape website!