Urban chipmunks are calm, healthy, and plump. This is their blueprint to thriving in the city

When the chill air signals the approach of winter, chipmunks begin to prepare for hibernation. The gatherers set out to collect enough nuts, fruit, and insects to last them through the season. Living in a diversity of environments in North America, they return to their burrows to stockpile their findings. Fortunately, they don’t have to roam far. A new generation of chipmunks have grown accustomed to the city. While they survive in their natural habitats, it’s within the urban sprawl that chipmunks thrive.

Chipmunks primarily live in forests and woodlands where the solitary animals build retreats in nests or bushes to keep safe from predators. This is not only to protect themselves – they’re also guarding over 150 acorns gathered in a single day. As developments have expanded, so has a chipmunk’s ability to adapt. Across suburban and inner-city landscapes they’ve adjusted to a fast-paced lifestyle, navigating cars, electric fences, and domestic animals. In 2020, their populations in cities in North America surged. Scientists have previously theorised that more food and a familiarity with their surroundings has led to calmer and plumper mammals. Urban female chipmunks are also more robust, with the potential to produce more offspring. 

As chipmunks uncover an abundance of nooks and food, they are mapping out the blueprint to urban life. When these champion hoarders cache their cheek pouches with all their treats, they may also be stashing the secret to survival in the city.