![chipmunk vs squirrel pictures chipmunk vs squirrel pictures](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aRS1WwVN7-A/maxresdefault.jpg)
Human food becomes especially unhealthy when it draws the animals to campgrounds, yards and other areas where they’re likely to get run over by vehicles.
![chipmunk vs squirrel pictures chipmunk vs squirrel pictures](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iXti9XEsW4M/maxresdefault.jpg)
They can carry diseases, and you don’t want that.”Īlso, human food is almost always very different from the rodents’ natural diet and thus not healthy for them. They are common in the park's subalpine regions, particularly around rocky outcrops and. Though they have stripes on their backs like a chipmunk, golden-mantled ground squirrels lack stripes on the face and are larger in size than a chipmunk. “With respect to chipmunks and squirrels, some people try to hand-feed them and then get bitten. Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus saturatus. “We discourage artificial feeding of all wild animals,” DOW spokesman Randy Hampton said. The Division of Wildlife advises against feeding chipmunks, as tempting and easy as it may be. In contrast, other ground squirrels eat voraciously to build up fat stores before hibernating all winter long.Ĭhipmunks and most other ground squirrels mate in the spring and have litters of about six young after a month-long gestation period. However, what chipmunks do with their food is a little different: Chipmunks store caches of food in their dens (after transporting it there with their famously expansive cheeks) and wake up periodically to eat throughout the winter, although they will usually not come above ground in snowy months. Plant matter comprises about 95 percent of their food. Chipmunks and other ground squirrels subsist off similar diets of seeds, berries, flowers, fruits and insects.