From Alvin and the Chipmunks to Over the Hedge, both squirrels and chipmunks have featured in some of the best animated movies. But they’re not the same thing, right? Or are they? I don’t know about you, but I’m a little confused, so let’s compare the two animals and explore the difference between squirrels and chipmunk!
Overview
Before we can start comparing the two, we need to make sure that we’re not comparing apples with apples.
First of all, squirrels and chipmunks both belong to the family Sciuridae, which includes small and medium rodents. We call this the squirrel family, and it consists of ground squirrels (and yes, this includes chipmunks), flying squirrels, and tree squirrels. Their closest relatives are the mountain beaver and dormice.
Somewhere in this large squirrel family we have the chipmunk. There’s Tamias (just the eastern chipmunk), Eutamias (just the Siberian chipmunk), and Neotamias (the 23 remaining species).
So if you take everything into account, the chipmunk is technically a type of ground squirrel. But we can still compare them to each other because not all squirrels are the same.
Physical Appearance
Squirrels: They’ve got plain fur with longer and fluffier tails. Only ground-dwelling species have stripes on their bodies but nothing on their heads. Squirrels can be anything from gray to red to multicolored like the Indian giant squirrel.
Chipmunks: The main thing that sets them apart is their distinct stripes that other types of squirrels don’t have. These stripes run all the way from their heads to their tails, which are shorter and not as furry. They also have stripes on the sides of their faces and backs and their fur is mostly brown.
Size
Squirrels: They’re without a doubt the bigger of the two, weighing up to 1.5 lbs. Normally, they’re 18 to 20 inches long, but the Malabar or Indian giant squirrel can be up to 3.3 feet long from head to tail.
Chipmunks: Small chipmunks are between 7 and 8.5 inches long and they only weigh 1.1 to 1.8 ounces. Large chipmunks can be 11 inches long and weigh no more than 4.4 ounces.
Behavior
Squirrels: They make sounds that resemble a dog’s bark, a cat’s meow, a moan sound, and a cooing sound that they save for their young. Ground-dwelling squirrels prefer to live in social groups, while those that live in trees need their privacy and independence.
Chipmunks: They croak and chirp when mating and make chipping sounds when there’s danger. Just like tree squirrels and unlike the others that live in the ground, chipmunks don’t like company.
Habitat
Squirrels: They’re one of the many animals you’ll encounter in England. They prefer woodlands and parks and practically any area with high trees for their little nests.
Chipmunks: They don’t like heights as much as tree squirrels, which is why they make their nests in burrows under the ground. They can live in forests, deserts, and even the mountains. It really doesn’t matter because they mostly only surface for food. Actually, they even use suburban underground drain pipes as personal tunnel systems, and you wouldn’t even know they’re down there.
Diet
Squirrels: They’re herbivores, so they eat the stereotypical nuts, seeds, acorns, and other plant materials.
Chipmunks: They basically have the same diet as squirrels but they also eat insects, worms, frogs, snails, and small birds. This makes them omnivores. It’s hard to imagine a tiny chipmunk snacking on birds, but their cheek pouches can expand up to the size of their entire body.
Conservation Status
Squirrels: Some species are endangered, but most tree- and ground-dwelling squirrels are marked safe and of least concern by the IUCN Red List.
Chipmunks: Unfortunately, things don’t look the same for chipmunks in particular. Multiple species, like the Palmer’s chipmunk and Peñasco chipmunk, are endangered. Fortunately, some species, like the Siberian Chipmunk, have adopted one of those creepy animal defenses to save themselves from predators.
Other Differences
Lifespan: Squirrels can live for 12 years but chipmunks usually only live for 6. This is because squirrels can easily escape into the highest of trees while chipmunks are mainly restricted to their burrows.
Hibernation: Squirrels don’t go into full hibernation, but chipmunks enter a state of torpor during the winter. This helps them to conserve energy for the rest of the year.
Mating: Squirrels mate twice per year – once in late winter and once again in late summer. Chipmunks only mate once in early spring.
Partners: Squirrels don’t choose partners. Both male and females have multiple partners while chipmunks are monogamous.
Birthing: Squirrels and chipmunks both take care of their babies until they’re mature enough. However, squirrels give birth to 2-6 babies and their gestation period is 4- 6 weeks. In contrast to this, chipmunks have a gestation period of 31-32 days, and they birth 4-5 babies.
Gliding: Did you know that squirrels can fly? Well, they can glide between trees and survive high falls, which is still pretty amazing. The flying squirrel has a membrane of skin from arm to leg, which helps them glide up to 300 feet. Obviously, chipmunks can’t put that on their resume.
Similarities
Breeding: Both squirrels and chipmunks nest profusely before giving birth. Unfortunately, this means that they can become a nuisance to some homeowners.
Eyesight: The two species have fantastic eyesight and they also both have great depth perception. It makes sense considering that squirrels need to see from way up high and chipmunks deep down in the dark.
Food storing: Since squirrels and chipmunks belong to the same family, it should make sense that they do stuff in the same way. Both rodents store excess food for lean times.
Courting: Both species attract mates by chasing, scent marking, vocalizations, and grooming.
