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| Our animals have taught us that friends come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and textures. Now if we could just learn Chippenese! | |
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Here's a Little Bit of Info About Us Kids
You Just Don't Get Much Cuter than a Chipmunk Chippy Tails is about the intelligent, fun loving, four-legged, frolicking, fur-faced chipmunks that live in our back yard beneath the stoop, under the patio, and under the storage shed. We hope you enjoy reading about our delightful chipmunks and seeing their pictures and a few of their friends. The Eastern Chipmunk, for the most part, lives in the open woodlands along the edge of the forest. They can be spotted in stone walls and wood piles from southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States, west to North Dakota and part of Oklahoma, and south to Virginia extending their territory into South Carolina and Mississippi. Chipmunks are small ground animals between 8 1/2 to 11 3/4" long. The coat of a young Eastern chipmunk is reddish brown on top with a white belly. At about a year old, their top coat (specifically the area between the two side stripes on their back) becomes a mixture of brown and gray, and they begin to develop white tufts on the bottom back side of their prominent chippy ears. Chipmunks have a white stripe on each side that ends at the rump, each bordered by two black stripes. They have light facial stripes above and below their eyes. A chippies tail is a mixture of brown and gray edged with black.
Perhaps the most prominent feature of the Eastern Chipmunk is the large internal cheek pouches they use to carry food and nesting materials back to their dens, but they have other interesting attributes as well. A baby chipmunk has a rather pointed face until its about a year old and then it's face begins to round out. Their front and back paws are like tiny hands with very long sharp nails used for climbing and digging. Chipmunks tend to hop more then run, landing on all four feet, with their tail straight up in the air. For the most part, their chippy tails are long and narrow (about the size of a pencil in diameter) unless they become excited or agitated. When this happens they inflate their tail so that the hairs stand perpendicular to the shaft making it appear three times as large as it actually is. A chipmunk tail is but one way we can tell them apart. Tails are not necessarily straight. Often they are kinked from being stepped on when they are very young. Others have kinked or shorter tails from doing battle with other chipmunks who are trying to move into their territory or steal food from their den. Ears are another way of differentiating between chipmunks. It's not unusual for a chipmunk to lose part of an ear or have a hole in an ear (usually from a squabble with another chippy) making for easier identification. In addition, there are subtle differences in the size and placement of the ears. One of our chipmunks has ears that seem to not sit right on her head (hence her name Ears). Another method of distinguishing these wild animals from one another is by studying their noses. Most chipmunks have a dark patch at the end of their nose. These patches will vary in color, size, and placement. Our friend Munkyface has a spot on the tip of his nose that's off to the side. It makes his nose look much larger and pinker. The more interaction you have with chippys, the easier it is to identify them. One thing is certain, regardless of the differences that makes each one of these wild animals unique, there is no one cuter than a chipmunk. |
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