TURNER PUBLISHING • August 28, 2022
The name “chipmunk” comes from an Abenaki word meaning “one who descends trees headlong.” First described in a 1743 book, chipmunks were later classified as Sciurus striatus, or “striped squirrel.” A small member of the squirrel family, chippies have reddish-brown fur with a single stripe down the middle of their backs and a white stripe between two black stripes down each side of the body. They are 8-10” long, including the tail, and weigh 2-5 ounces. The Eastern Chipmunk has two fewer teeth than other chipmunks and four toes each on the front legs, five on the hind legs. It typically lives in mature woodland areas in the eastern U.S. and southern Canada.