Squirrel ‘“ can be found playing important roles in many children’s stories like the Redwall series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Watership Down.Ĭhipmunk ‘“ Disney’s Chip and Dale and the cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks are the two most popular cases of chipmunks in our culture.ġ.Chipmunks and squirrels come from the same family and therefore have similar diets and habitat preferences.Ģ.The easiest way to tell a chipmunk from a squirrel is by looking for the big bushy tail of a squirrel.ģ.Because chipmunks and squirrels are so well-adapted to living side by side with humans, they have found their way into many of our stories and television shows. Ground squirrels are found in a variety of habitats including forests and grasslands. Squirrels are also known to eat insects and even small vertebrates if they are really hungry.Ĭhipmunks ‘“ are also omnivores who eat nuts, greens, eggs, insects, and fungi. Instead it enjoys a diet of nuts, seeds, fungi, and legumes. Squirrels ‘“ cannot eat grass or other cellulose rich food. Chipmunks also like to live in the forest, but can be found in the suburbs or urban areas that have trees. There is one species found in northeast Asia as well. Chipmunks and tree squirrels enjoy climbing, but ground squirrels do not. Chipmunks have stripes on their backs, while tree squirrels do not. They commonly like an environment with lots of trees, but squirrels have adapted to both marginal and urban living.Ĭhipmunk ‘“ are mostly found in North America. 8 Key Differences Between a chipmunk vs squirrel Chipmunks are found mainly in North America, while squirrels are larger rodents that can be found all over the world. They range from the typical Eastern Grey Squirrel most common in the United States to smaller red and black squirrels in other parts of the world. Squirrel ‘“ can be found all over North America, Europe, Asia, and even some parts of Africa. Many of these similarities come from the fact that chipmunks and squirrels both belong to the family Sciuridae. Squirrels and chipmunks possess more similarities than commonality, but theyre not hostile to one another.
The basic body shape of a chipmunk is the same as a squirrel. Their tails are quite short in comparison. Squirrels vs Chipmunks Although their body shape is essentially alike, squirrels are larger, longer, and heftier than chipmunks. Chipmunks are generally smaller than squirrels. Running down its back are alternating black and white stripes. The main body of a chipmunk is a warm brown color. Their eyes are large and placed on either side of their head and their ears are proportionally large and stand straight up.Ĭhipmunk ‘“ can be recognized by their unique color and stripe pattern. They have powerful back legs that are longer than their front ones. The most distinctive characteristic of a squirrel is its large bushy tail that almost doubles the length of the animal. Squirrel ‘“ comes in a variety of colors ranging from black, to grey, to red, to brown. Once you get to know them, they are easily distinguishable. These animals are often considered cute and sometimes thought to be a nuisance. College campuses, especially those dotted with old stands of trees are particularly favorite haunts. But in general, they occur throughout most of the state and are not a species of concern.In backyards through the United States you can find small creatures running around. Chipmunks are cute and harmless, while squirrels are. So the 13-lined ground squirrel I had spotted last spring was not that unusual.Īs to chipmunks, Schooley emailed, “I am not aware of any recent monitoring of chipmunks in Illinois. The golden-mantled ground squirrel and the chipmunk have the same stripes on their backs and sides but the stripes do not continue onto the face of the ground squirrel. Squirrels and chipmunks possess more similarities than commonality, but theyre not hostile to one another. Unlike Franklin’s, they inhabit mowed areas including roadsides, lawns, parks, and such.” “Thirteen-lined ground squirrels seem to be doing fine. For instance, they also occur in smooth brome grasslands but only if they are not mowed regularly. Jenny Duggan, showed that Franklin’s in Illinois were not necessarily a prairie obligate species. However, research by a former PhD student of mine, Dr. They have suffered from the tremendous loss and fragmentation of tallgrass prairies and now occur in small patches of grasslands including along roadsides and railroads. They are also an Endangered species in Indiana and a Species of Concern in other Midwest states.
As to how our two ground squirrels are doing, Schooley broke it down like this, “Franklin’s ground squirrel is state listed as a Threatened species in Illinois.
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