Quote:
Originally Posted by gravy boat
With the big die-off last year we had none for a while. This summer we had at least one red squirrel and one gray. And we have three chipmunks that I can count. Lots of acorns falling this year so the population should continue growing. I read that acorns take 2-3 years to mature/grow to point they fall and their numbers depend on prior years' weather.
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Same numbers here. The gray only appeared one day. The cursed
red squirrel ran across the lot a couple of times. Three chipmunks over the entire summer.
Back in Spring, the first chipmunk remembered me, and came running to my whistle!
He was shadowed by a larger chipmunk, which I took to be his mother. She'd chase him off (which is normal), but she would also look forward to some black sunflower seeds.
Both are likely off in the woods now, but there are reminders (left by mussel shells) that we also have minks—which prey upon chipmunks. Both always appear stressed. A third appeared in the last two weeks, but wouldn't respond to me (and just now, ran away).
Chipmunks evolved from an underground tunneling mammal that survived the dinosaur era.
Their underground homes (and food-storage areas) use large voids they find in the ground, so can't solely be blamed for misalignment of stepping stones. (Which should be bedded in a large gravel footprint).
All the other 28 Chipmunk species are smaller than our Eastern Chipmunk.