Sharp Claws and Stretchy Cheeks

by Susan Richardson

“Chip! Chip! Chip!” an Eastern chipmunk calls loudly from atop a tree stump. “Chip! Chip! Chip! Chip!”

Suddenly, the chipmunk stops. Camouflaged under the shadows of the trees, he sits still, silent, and alert. His big bright eyes gaze at the areas on each side and above him. His keen ears listen.

In a flash, the frightened chipmunk races toward the forest’s edge and disappears down a small hidden hole. He hurries deep into the dark tunnel, or burrow, that is his home. His sensitive whiskers help him find the way. Underground, the chipmunk sits quietly in his long hallway. He built this home himself with his own sharp claws. And he was thinking about safety when he built it. To keep his home as secret as possible, the chipmunk placed his entrance in a patch of wild violets on a slight slope of land. During construction, he was careful to leave no clues, like a mound of dirt, near his front door.

The chipmunk has a big stretchy pocket, or pouch, inside each of his cheeks. As he dug out the entrance, tunnels, and rooms of his home, he packed the loose soil into his cheek pouches. When his cheeks became full and bulging, the chipmunk then hauled the dirt to a location far from his building site. With front paws pressed against the sides of his face, he opened his little mouth and dumped the dirt from his cheeks out onto the ground. Then he returned home to continue digging until the next time he needed to haul away dirt.

Hawks, foxes, raccoons, and cats are only a few of the animals that will try to eat a chipmunk. Snakes and weasels are small enough to enter a chipmunk’s front door! Fortunately, the chipmunk built his home with two back doors that can be used as emergency exits.

On a cool day in early autumn, the chipmunk stuffs his cheeks with acorns. He pokes the acorns into his mouth, one after another, until each cheek is full, fat, and nearly as big as his head! Then he scurries home and hurries to his cache, the stack of seeds and nuts he has gathered and hidden in one of his storerooms. He enjoyed eating berries in the summer, but this cache (pronounced like “cash”) of dry food will help him survive the coming winter.

Squeezing his cheeks with his paws, the chipmunk pops the acorns out of his mouth and onto the heap of nuts. He makes his way back through the tunnel and out to gather more. Many trips will be made today, each time bringing more acorns back to fill his storerooms. By the end of the day, he will have gathered 165 acorns!

On a cold November morning, the chipmunk pokes his head out and sees snowflakes falling all around his front door. Winter has arrived. He goes back down into one of his storerooms and snacks on a hickory nut. Then he goes into his bedroom and crawls onto the soft bed made of shredded leaves.

The Eastern chipmunk will spend the winter napping and eating the food he has piled up in his storerooms. He will sleep for several days, maybe even two or three weeks. When he wakes up, he will enjoy a crunchy snack. Then he will get back in his soft leafy bed and sleep some more. Thanks to his sharp claws and stretchy cheeks, this hard-working chipmunk is one small rodent with a good home and enough food to survive until spring.