Saga, a Goddess of history and bardic arts, also has a Chipmunk companion.Īn Irish Goddess by the name of Medb is said to have this little guy as a sacred animal. The symbolism here combines with the Chipmunk’s habit of chattering as if there is always something new about which to talk.

Norse myths tell us that either a Chipmunk or Squirrel runs up and down the World Tree delivering messages to and from the Gods (Odin in particular). As Chipmunks eat nuts and acorns, they also have an important role to play in spreading seeds and spores. Even then, the energy level for Chipmunk is pretty perky. Young Chipmunks depend on their mother for about six weeks. They are diligent about preparing for the future and have more than one entrance and exit to their favorite hiding spots. Similar to Squirrels, Chipmunk always prepares for seasonal shifts in food supplies by stashing some neatly away. Being picky isn’t really in Chipmunk’s character makeup. Pop culture has brought Chipmunks some fame with Alvin, Chip, and Dale, all three of whom have a cute factor of 100 plus! It’s hard not to find Chipmunks adorable with huge bundles of personality hidden in a tiny body.Ĭhipmunks don’t really have a lot of enemies mostly because they’re clever enough to avoid troublesome situations this creature is very adaptable and will live nearly anywhere that suits them, including under your patio. In late summer it is highly visible as it scurries about gleaning seeds.Chipmunks are known worldwide but are native to America and parts of Asia. Most of its activity is confined to the ground where it travels rapidly among stumps, logs, or other slightly elevated prominences. The golden-mantled ground squirrel is active diurnally from late winter-early spring to mid autumn. This ground squirrel occupies the east slope of the Cascade Range and most of central Oregon, and the Siskiyou mountain, Wallowa Mountains, Steens Mountain and southeastward south of Huntington, Baker County. The face, shoulders, front legs, and feet are a bright orangish-gold.

The back between the stripes is grizzled dark grayish-brown becoming less grizzled on the rump lateral to the stripes the color grades to a light buffy-gold on the venter. From nose to nape above the eye, the head is russet. The golden-mantled ground squirrel doubtlessly is the most distinctively marked ground squirrel in Oregon a white stripe bordered on both sides by a black stripe extends from the shoulder to the hip. Adults remained active for 135-150 days, entering hibernation by the end of July, or for juveniles mid August. In central Oregon, marmots emerged from hibernation the last week of February or the first week of March, adult males first, followed in order by adult females, yearling females, and yearling males. Marmots hibernate body temperature, heart rate, respiration, and physiological processes decline to extremely low levels. Occasionally, an abandoned building or pile of logs serves as a substitute for rocks. The primary requisites of suitable habitats for the yellow-bellied marmot are boulders or piles of rocks and an abundance of succulent vegetation in close proximity thereto. Mazama, Klamath County, except for the Columbia Basin. In Oregon, it occurs in suitable habitats east of a line connecting Mt. The pelage consists of a dense, wooly underfur covered by long, course guard hairs and is distinctively colored and marked. It has short legs, a short and bushy tail, and ears short and covered with fur. The yellow-bellied marmot is the largest squirrel in Oregon.

Chipmunk names