Least Chipmunk - Sierra Club BC
Skip to content
Least Chipmunk

CAN BE FOUND IN:

Least Chipmunk

Neotamias minimus 

Appearance

Least chipmunks are yellow-grey to brown-grey on top and have black and white side stripes that run from their head to the base of the tail. They have orange-brown sides with a white belly and long light brown/grey-yellow tail. 

range & habitat

Least chipmunks like pastures, open coniferous forests, rocky cliffs and sagebrush deserts. They can be found throughout most of south-western Canada, reaching as far north as southern Yukon, and as far east as Ontario, with a southernmost extreme in New Mexico and north-western California. 

reciprocal relationships

Chipmunks hibernate from November until March, emerging to feed on young leaves and shoots, earthworms, insects, and flowers until their favourite foods (seeds, nuts and berries) become available. On rare occasions, chipmunks eat small birds and mammals.  

Chipmunks fill their stretchy cheek pouches with the food they collect. They'll then store it in their nests or in small holes they have dug in the ground. Chipmunks play an important role in the spread of trees, shrubs, and plants when they leave ‘left-over’ seeds in their underground storage places because buried seeds are more likely to germinate than seeds lying on the surface! 

Chipmunks mate in spring, giving birth to litters of four to six young within a month. Although it takes young chipmunks nearly five weeks to open their eyes, they grow quickly to become adults by September! Throughout their life, they develop the gifts of communication. They connect through calls so they can alert each other of danger and converse through a wide array of chirps and squeaks.  

status

COSEWIC: Not Reported 
CDC: Yellow, but the oreocetes subspecies is blue and the selkirki subspecies is red-listed. 

more information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.   

photo credit

Canva

Related Species

Filter by Taxonomy

Filter by EcoProvince

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America and weighs only 3 or 4 ounces.

American White Pelican

American White Pelican

American white pelicans are some of the largest birds in North America. They hunt together, driving small schools of fish into each other’s bill pouches.

Arctic tern

Arctic tern

Arctic terns are unique birds with gifts of persistence and resourcefulness. These birds must fly great distances, and in doing so they have a diet with a variety of sea life.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald eagles are found all over B.C. and the U.S. The largest populations in North America live in B.C. and Alaska.

Banana Slug

Banana Slug

Banana slugs are important decomposers in our coastal rainforest. They are nocturnal feeders, eating decaying animals, mushrooms, and plants.

Beaver

Beaver

The beaver possesses many gifts! They are adept at swimming, building, and tree chomping.

Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn Sheep

The bighorn sheep are important primary consumers in the food chain. They are vegetarians, eating grasses, bushes and leaves.

Black and White Warbler

Black and White Warbler

These iconic Canadian birds are also called the ‘black and white creeper’ because they creep along tree trunks looking for tasty insects.

Black Bear

Black Bear

Black bears and Pacific salmon play an important part in maintaining our forest ecosystems.

Bocaccio Rockfish

Bocaccio Rockfish

Bocaccio rockfish are important consumers. These fish eat smaller fish such as anchovies, mackerel, squid and other rockfish.

Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

These gulls nest in large numbers and produce two to three eggs at a time. These gulls are gifted with agility.

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal chickadees are an important indicator species of boreal ecosystems!