Wild About is a celebration of the flora and fauna commonly found in our cities. Instead of fact sheets, this space will showcase books, art, music, societies, and whimsical objects about urban-adaptable plants and animals. If you would like to see your favorite urban-oriented plant or animal featured, please email us at info(at)localecology.org.
The chipmunk is not commonly found in cities but we are featuring the chipmunk (Tamias striatus) because of recent photographic evidence of an Eastern chipmunk in the Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village. (I was told that several years ago, a pair of chipmunks were brought to the garden from upstate New York.) The Eastern chipmunk is a woodland species and natural history information can be found in this Ohio State University Extension Factsheet.
Probably the most famous fictional chipmunks are Alvin and the Chipmunks and Disney's Chip 'n Dale.
The species was made famous in literature by David Sedaris in Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. For children in your life, you might consider The Berenstain Bears and the Baby Chipmunk.
The chipmunk is a relative of the squirrel. There are flying squirrels and I wonder if the founders of the flight search engine, Hipmunk, were thinking of the latter when they named their company.
If you live in a woodland setting and would like to provide feed for squirrels, check out the chipmunk feeder crafted by HappyValleyWood on Etsy. (By the way, there are 1,985 items labeled chipmunk on Etsy.)
Previously in this series Wild About: Pigeons and Wild About: Ginkgo.
Wild About was inspired by the Animal Love series at Design*Sponge.
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| Image: Chipmunk in Washington Square Village Sasaki Garden courtesy of Hubert J. Steed (source) |
Probably the most famous fictional chipmunks are Alvin and the Chipmunks and Disney's Chip 'n Dale.
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| Image: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk book cover via Amazon.com |
The chipmunk is a relative of the squirrel. There are flying squirrels and I wonder if the founders of the flight search engine, Hipmunk, were thinking of the latter when they named their company.
If you live in a woodland setting and would like to provide feed for squirrels, check out the chipmunk feeder crafted by HappyValleyWood on Etsy. (By the way, there are 1,985 items labeled chipmunk on Etsy.)
Previously in this series Wild About: Pigeons and Wild About: Ginkgo.
Wild About was inspired by the Animal Love series at Design*Sponge.
Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhPxj3Q4YMs
I will share the video with a youngster who likes chipmunks and Disney. Thank you.
I'm trying to bring value to other readers of your post when urging those to not threaten the lives of chipmunks when trying to get them out of the yard, but instead use natural ways. There are many household item that you can do this with. Here are some examples:
- Scatter mothballs throughout the yard.
- Put out items that chipmunks hate to smell, like blood meal or other fragrant alternatives.
- Sprinkle cayenne pepper on your most sought after plants.
Thanks for writing this post and bringing some light to one of the coolest animals!
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