Amazing – even with several feet of snow on the ground in central Vermont, eastern chipmunks are emerging right on time, scurrying around on top of the snow foraging for food. All winter they have been somewhat torpid down in their tunnels (elaborate ones measure up to 32 feet in length), waking to feed on their stored food supply every two weeks or so. It must feel good see daylight, even if the weather is inclement.
This entry was posted on March 11, 2011 by Mary Holland. It was filed under Mammals, March, Signs of Spring .
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Naturally Curious with Mary Holland
Our resident chipmunks are out and about, too. Some are recognizable from year to year by the shape of their tails – near misses with predators perhaps? How long, we wonder, do chipmunks live? One with half a tail seems to have been here for several years, although given how often their tails are misshapen, it could be two different chipmunks.
March 12, 2011 at 9:04 am
The average eastern chipmunk lives 2 – 3 years at most, in the wild. In captivity they have lived as long as 8 years.
March 12, 2011 at 7:45 pm