Hello. I Can’t Remember If You Brought Me Seeds Last Year. 🤔
Chipmunk Contemplation…
Seeds or no seeds…
That is the question… 😉
The chipmunks must be hungry after the long winter season. This one seemed a little shy and would not come very close to me. By summer, in this public park, it will likely boldly approach human folk in the search of food.
www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/mammals/chipmunk.html
Chipmunks are known to be hibernators, even in the southern parts of their range. Near the end of July, they begin to collect and store large quantities of seeds. By October, each chipmunk has accumulated enough seeds to enable it to survive the winter.
With the onset of winter in November, chipmunks disappear below ground. At present, it is not known exactly what happens when chipmunks retire to their burrows for the winter. One view is that they immediately go into a torpid state. (In this state, the body temperature, rate of breathing, and rate of heartbeat drop to very low levels, reducing the amount of energy required to maintain the chipmunk.) Periods of torpor last from one to eight days, and perhaps longer. Between periods of torpor, chipmunks wake up and consume part of their food supply. They have occasionally been seen above ground on warm winter days. A second view is that chipmunks do not actually hibernate until their food supply has been exhausted.
With the first warm days of March, chipmunks begin to emerge, sometimes burrowing up through a metre of snow.
In spring, chipmunks diligently search the ground for any seeds that remain from the previous summer. As these are usually scarce, the small rodents eat young leaves and shoots until new fruit and seeds become available.
Hello. I Can’t Remember If You Brought Me Seeds Last Year. 🤔
Chipmunk Contemplation…
Seeds or no seeds…
That is the question… 😉
The chipmunks must be hungry after the long winter season. This one seemed a little shy and would not come very close to me. By summer, in this public park, it will likely boldly approach human folk in the search of food.
www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/mammals/chipmunk.html
Chipmunks are known to be hibernators, even in the southern parts of their range. Near the end of July, they begin to collect and store large quantities of seeds. By October, each chipmunk has accumulated enough seeds to enable it to survive the winter.
With the onset of winter in November, chipmunks disappear below ground. At present, it is not known exactly what happens when chipmunks retire to their burrows for the winter. One view is that they immediately go into a torpid state. (In this state, the body temperature, rate of breathing, and rate of heartbeat drop to very low levels, reducing the amount of energy required to maintain the chipmunk.) Periods of torpor last from one to eight days, and perhaps longer. Between periods of torpor, chipmunks wake up and consume part of their food supply. They have occasionally been seen above ground on warm winter days. A second view is that chipmunks do not actually hibernate until their food supply has been exhausted.
With the first warm days of March, chipmunks begin to emerge, sometimes burrowing up through a metre of snow.
In spring, chipmunks diligently search the ground for any seeds that remain from the previous summer. As these are usually scarce, the small rodents eat young leaves and shoots until new fruit and seeds become available.