Sign Up  /  Login

Local Wildlife: Chipmunk LbNA #43636

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Sep 27, 2008
Location:
City:Brewster
County:Putnam
State:New York
Boxes:1
Planted by:Karen & K9s
Found by: Miss Moon
Last found:Jun 26, 2020
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Sep 27, 2008
LOCAL WILDLIFE: CHIPMUNK

They have reddish-brown fur on their upper parts with 5 dark brown stripes and contrasting light brown stripes along their backs and light underparts. They have a tawny stripe that goes from their whiskers to below their ears and light stripes over their eyes. They have a dark tail. Like other chipmunks, they transport food in pouches in their cheeks.

They live in deciduous woods and urban parks in southern Canada and the eastern United States. They prefer locations with rocky areas and shrubs to provide cover.
They climb trees well but construct underground nests with extensive tunnel systems, often with several entrances. They store food in their burrows. During winter, these animals enter long periods of torpor, but do not truly hibernate.

These animals are mainly active during the day, spending most of their day foraging for food. They eat bulbs, seeds, fruits, nuts, green plants, mushrooms, insects, worms, and bird eggs. Predators include hawks, foxes, raccoons, weasels, snakes, and cats.

Eastern chipmunks defend their burrows and live solitary lives, except during mating. Females produce 1 or 2 litters of 4 to 5 young. They have two breeding seasons. One goes from February to April, the other June to August. The expected lifespan of Tamias striatus in the wild is perhaps a year; in captivity it may live eight years. On average they live 2-3 years.

In order to hide their burrow, eastern chipmunks will carry the dirt that they excavate to a different location in their cheek pouches. Since they are an easy prey species, they have to hide their burrows. They also line their burrows with leaves, rocks, sticks, and other material. This makes them even harder to see.
They have several bird-like chipping calls that give them their name.

DIRECTIONS: I684 to Brewster exit. Make a right onto Rte 202/22. Go through a blinking yellow light and continue under a railroad trestle. Go through the next traffic light, and a little ways down the road you will see a cemetery on your left. Pull in and drive to the top of the hill.

TO FIND THE LETTERBOX: “The souls of the just are in the hands of God”. Now look for a large cross reaching for the sky. Go to John and Mary O’Connor’s side. Next to them rests Bridget O’Connor and Mary and John’s children, Kate and John. Look between for a small stone bearing only a cross. Behind this stone is the chipmunk. Move the stone gently forward to reach it. Please move it back and pack the earth gently in front of it before you leave.