| Alpine chipmunks live only at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. They are found in rocky areas such as rock-bordered alpine meadows, talus slopes, and rockslides, with such other mammals as pikas, ermine, yellow-bellied marmots, and bighorn sheep. Seeds, small alpine plants, and sedges make up most of the chipmunk's diet, but they also eat fruits, berries, fungi, forbs, and grasses. They are active until mid-October and then hibernate until June.
Also known as:
Mountain Chipmunk
Length:
Average:
174 mm males; 177 mm females
Range:
166-184 mm males; 169-181 mm females
Weight:
Range:
27.5-45.5 g
References:
Merriam, C.H., 1893. Descriptions of eight new ground squirrels of the genera Spermophilus and Tamias from California, Texas, and Mexico, p. 137. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 8:129-138.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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