Members of the Order Rodentia, chipmunks are some of the most distinctive tiny creatures in the wild. Their stripes immediately identify them, with coloration ranging from white to tan to dark brown. Twenty-five species exist among three genera (though some scientists group them into one genus). All but one species lives in North America. The Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus), the one that lives in my memories, populates one genus on its own and lives across the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast United States, as well as Canada. Twenty-three species stretch across the Western United States (genus Neotamias). The lone non-continental species shows up in Siberia (Eutamias sibiricus)!

Since most of the world’s species reside in North America, it’s no surprise that the origin of the word likely arises from a Native American language. Etymologists believe the original word may have been spelled “chitmunk,” which likely arrived from the Odawa term jidmoonh, meaning “red squirrel.” Across the years, the word evolved into other forms, including “chipmuck” and “chipminck.”  By the early 1800s, “chipmonk” and “chipmunk” arrived. The animals make a distinct “chip” sound, which likely elicits all these monikers. In Maine, we called the animal Chippy. When I was young, I thought Chippy was the same creature each year. Now, of course, I realize we met many Chippys.

Other common nicknames for a chipmunk include “striped squirrels,” “timber tigers,” and “minibears.” Not sure I understand the latter! John James Audubon included a lithograph of the chipmunk in Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, where he called them “ground squirrels” or “hackees.” Though chipmunks are distinct from common squirrels, both critters belong to the same family, Sciuridae.