Siberian Chipmunk

About this species

Diet

Seeds, nuts, fruits, fungi and small animal food

Habitat

Coniferous and mixed forest

The Siberian chipmunk is a small ground squirrel with five dark longitudinal stripes on a warm brown or ochre back. Four pale stripes separate the dark ones, and a dark line continues through each eye; the belly is whitish and the bushy tail is brown-grey. This crisp striped pattern distinguishes it from unstriped ground squirrels. Cheek pouches allow it to carry seeds and nuts back to caches or its burrow. (Wikipedia, Siberian chipmunk account)

Native from northern European Russia across Siberia to East Asia, the Siberian chipmunk inhabits coniferous and mixed woodland with ground cover, fallen timber or rocks. It is diurnal, forages largely on the ground, and eats seeds, nuts, berries, fungi and some animal matter. Individuals occupy burrows, store food, and spend the cold season in prolonged torpor broken by feeding from caches. The opened general account did not identify a Mongolian park or population-specific timetable, so no local site is asserted. (Wikipedia, Siberian chipmunk account)

Description: Wildlife of Japan guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)