Posted by Gerry Ann Bosworth on July 28, 2007

Q: Today we saw a "large" chipmunk in our yard in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but it was rather unusual. First of all, it was the size of a squirrel (about 10-12 inches in length) and had a long, full tail that looked like a cat's tail (not as long- about 7-8 inches). It had beautiful stripes down its back (brown, black and white) and the rest of it was tan, except for a white underbelly. Its eyes were fairly large and its ears were a little larger than a normal squirrel. It was quite striking and beautiful, but we couldn't identify it. When I looked up "striped squirrels" I found references to "Tammias minimis", which of course means "least" chipmunk- and information that its one of the smallest of chipmunks. This was NOT small. What could it be? And, I don't believe this is native to Tennessee, is it? Our back yard is wooded and quite a bird sanctuary.

Thanks,

Gerry Ann Bosworth

Habitat: forest/open woods

State: Tennessee

Habitat: forest/open woods

A: Boy, you've got me on this one. The chipmunks all look very, very similar so when you've seen one, you pretty much know what all of the different species look like. If it looked like a chipmunk, it probably was. The Least Chipmunk doesn't live in TN and it's entire length (including the tail) is about 8" so this doesn't seem reasonable. TN only has the Eastern Chipmunk in the state to my knowledge. The only animal that comes to mind, beyond the chipmunks, that kind of fits your description is the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel but that seems very iffy to me. According to the range map, they don't live in TN either but I suppose it's possible that they've moved into your area. Take a look at this site to see if this looks like your visitor www.americazoo.com It's a long shot but the best I can do if your visitor is not a chipmunk.

Hope this helps.

John Wiessinger ( July 29, 2007)