Chipmunk - Asiatic chipmunk

A member of the Mammalia class, Rodentia order, Sciuridae family. It is found in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Siberia, Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, and China. It is smaller than the Hondri squirrel, with a body length of 12-16 cm and a tail length of 9-13 cm. Its body is ochre-colored, with five black vertical stripes on its back. It inhabits forests, shrubs, and rocky areas from plains to mountains, and prefers living near water. It is good at climbing trees, but is mainly active on the ground, digging burrows in the ground. The burrows are usually less than 50 cm deep, 1-2 meters long, sometimes 3 meters long, and contain a living chamber, one or two storage chambers, and a toilet. It is active during the day, and eats its main food, pine seeds, as well as tree buds, mushrooms, and fruit. It stores a large amount of seeds in its storage chamber from summer to autumn. They use the cheek pouches to transport seeds. They hibernate in their burrows from October until the following March, waking up occasionally during that time to eat stored food. Mating season is in April, and they give birth to 4-6 young in May and June. Their natural enemies are carnivores such as stoats and birds of prey. Their fur is traded in large quantities in Siberia. Large numbers of them from the Korean Peninsula are imported to Japan as pets, but there are problems as there is a risk that they may escape and become wild.

[Yoshiharu Imaizumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱齧歯(げっし)目リス科の動物。北海道、樺太(からふと)（サハリン）、シベリア、モンゴル、朝鮮半島、中国に分布する。ホンドリスよりも小形で、体長12～16センチメートル、尾長9～13センチメートル。体色は黄土色で、背側には5本の黒い縦縞(たてじま)が走る。平地から山地までの森林、低木林、岩地などに生息し、水辺近くを好む。木登りがうまいが、活動はおもに地表で行い、巣穴を地表に掘る。巣穴は普通、深さが50センチメートル以内、全長1～2メートル、ときに3メートルで、居住用の巣室と1、2室の貯蔵庫、および便所がある。昼間活動して、おもな食物であるマツなどの種子のほか、木の芽、キノコ、果実などを食べる。夏から秋の間に貯蔵庫に大量の種子を蓄える。種子の運搬には両頬(ほお)の頬袋を使う。10月～翌3月までは巣穴内で休眠するが、その間もときどき起きては貯蔵した食物を食べる。交尾期は4月で、5、6月に4～6子を産む。天敵はオコジョなどの食肉類と猛禽(もうきん)類である。毛皮はシベリアでは大量に取引される。日本では朝鮮半島産のものがペット用に多量に輸入されているが、逃亡して野生化するおそれがあり、問題が多い。

［今泉吉晴］

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