Squirrels and chipmunks are from the same family. They are fascinating creatures and draw attention from many people. But do squirrels and chipmunks get along?
The biggest question that rings many peoples’ minds is, do these two creatures get along? Or are they just neighbors? How about their diet, habitat, or even relationship? Do they fight?
Further in my article, you will learn whether squirrels and chipmunks get along and everything you need to know about them.
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Linda. Read more about our knowledge control process here.
Contents
Squirrels Habitat vs. Chipmunks Habitat
Squirrels mostly live in holes on trees left by woodpeckers. They expand the holes as per their size. They cover their nests with twigs and leaves. Squirrels can easily live in forests, open woodlands, and densely populated environments.
They mostly live in nearly mature or mature forests. Lands with shelter trees such as oaks and nuts become their favorite. You can also find squirrels in polar regions, arid areas, and public parks.
Talking of chipmunks, they are found in woodlands, parkland, and urban areas as squirrels. However, they mostly like deciduous woodlands with several stumps and logs. Primarily, chipmunks construct their nests underground.
They construct tunnels that serve as their homes and also where they store their foods. There is a tunnel that is shallow and another quite deep. They use the shallow tunnel when it’s warm and the deep one during winter.
Chipmunks go ahead and cover their nests with leaves and moss. Some chipmunks tend to occupy nests that other animals have abandoned.
Chipmunks are pretty intelligent in constructing their homes. They typically use their warm times in making their burrows, preparing for winter seasons. Their shelters usually have a long tunnel with several entrances and exit points.
Squirrel Dietary vs. Chipmunks Dietary
Squirrels will eat any available food, but they mostly prefer vegetables and fruits. They usually eat corn, broccoli, nuts, strawberries, raspberries, mustard greens, spinach, insects, fungi, bird eggs, flower bulbs, roots, mushrooms, etc.
Squirrels will also enjoy oranges, apples, and avocado fruits. Generally speaking, squirrels are omnivores and can eat almost anything. On the other hand, baby squirrels feed on their mothers’ milk until they can eat solid foods.
I love these critters because they are wise enough to know that they need to store food for future use. They dig many holes from different locations and keep the food in them. Likewise, chipmunks are also omnivores.
They tend to eat plant foods and food from animals. Chipmunks can feed on berries, fruits, seeds, fresh grass, plant shoots, insects, among others. They’re active in the morning and evening when there are very few predators to threaten them.
Chipmunks also gather enough non-perishable food and store them in their burrows at the beginning of the fall, and the food can sustain them throughout winter. They got flexible poaches that they use in transporting foods.
Do Squirrels and Chipmunks Get Along?
Chipmunks and squirrels may or may not get along well, although they are from the same family. They live together in forested areas or areas with ground logs. They don’t share their gathered food and will never fight for the food.
These critters eat almost similar types of foods, and they both store them in burrows, but there is no time they share the meal.
Chipmunks are almost similar to squirrels; they are affected by similar factors such as food, predators, and weather. Rather their way of looking for food is different, they have a diverse habitat, and their behavior tends to differ.
Chipmunks and squirrels are both omnivores. They eat the same foods, including corn, fruits, vegetables, and insects. But do they gather their foods together?
The truth is, chipmunks and squirrels don’t gather food together, neither do they share the food. They also don’t make their burrows together nor share the already made homes. They work independently as if the other critter doesn’t exist.
Despite constructing homes separately, squirrels and chipmunks can make their habitat in the same location or area and become neighbors. They don’t compete for anything, neither food nor homes.
Therefore, the main question in many people’s minds is well answered. Do they get along? Do they eat together? Do they cooperate in collecting their food? No! Chipmunks and squirrels are just neighbors, nothing else.
Do Squirrels and Chipmunks Fight?
To repeat what I said earlier, chipmunks and squirrels live as neighbors. They build their homes separately; they look for their foods differently and store them in different niches.
Another thing to note is that a squirrel doesn’t mate with a chipmunk. Female squirrels mate only with male squirrels, and so do chipmunks. There is nothing to attract them together and therefore won’t fight for a mate.
Squirrels are territorial animals and will fiercely defend their territory from intruders. Chipmunks are no different from squirrels when it comes to territoriality. Thus, be sure a conflict must arise when these two rodents interfere with each other’s territory.
That is the primary reason a squirrel and chipmunk can get into a fight. Other circumstances that can bring a conflict is when the mothers suspect a threat to their babies. Squirrels and chipmunks can fight to protect their children.
Squirrels weigh more and grow bigger than chipmunks; hence, they emerge winners in case of a fight, but that is not always the case. Moreover, squirrels are easily offended and are more likely to start the battle.
Which is Faster, A Chipmunk, or Squirrel?
Squirrels and chipmunks are always in a high motion. Both of them can move pretty fast, that it would be almost difficult to tell who is faster than the other.
But if you put them in a race, then there has to be a winner. A chipmunk shows a zigzag motion and high speed when running from predators, which isn’t different from squirrels.
Have you ever seen any of either a squirrel or chipmunk in motion? You see them running but, in a blink, they are nowhere to be seen. That is how faster these creatures can run.
Both species are fast in collecting their foods, bringing them to their habitat, or burying them in secured places for future use. As I said, when squirrels and chipmunks compete, a winner has to be found.
Chipmunks will more often become champions. And that proves that they are faster than squirrels. Chipmunks run at a speed of 33kph but for squirrels is 24kph.
Wrapping Up
Squirrels and chipmunks are not significantly different from each other; in fact, they come from the same family. They live in almost the same habitat and are affected by the same factors, such as predators, climate, and food.
A squirrel will not share a habitat with any chipmunk; they don’t cooperate in collecting their foods or sharing the collected food. They live an independent life and don’t bother about one another, but are good neighbors.
However, squirrels and chipmunks tend to fight with each other to protect their territories and young ones. Both species can hibernate during winter, but this only applies to ground squirrels.
Now you have seen what aspect can squirrels and chipmunks get along and why they would fight. They share a lot in common but don’t get along well on most occasions.
I want to feed my chipmunks something that squirrels will leave alone. Is there anything?