Eastern chipmunk

Tamias striatus · The eastern chipmunk is a small striped rodent that lives in deciduous woods and urban parks across the eastern United States and southern Canada.

Also called Eastern American Chipmunk.

Eastern chipmunk
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Eastern chipmunk
Photo: Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0
Eastern chipmunk
Photo: Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilySciuridae
GenusTamias
SpeciesTamias striatus

Where it lives

Deciduous woodlands of the US east of the Great Plains, and southern Canada.

Fun facts

  • Eastern chipmunks can trill at a rate of 130 trills per minute.
  • Chipmunks hide their burrows by lining them with leaves, rocks, sticks and other material, which makes the homes even harder to spot.
  • Although they climb trees well, eastern chipmunks build underground nests with extensive tunnel systems, often with several entrances.
  • Eastern chipmunks carry food in their cheek pouches.

Play it

The Eastern chipmunk was the creature in the daily on November 9, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).