Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
Hi all,
2 weeks ago I saw a chipmunk in Wuppertal, Northrhine-Westphalia, western Germany, which was not the species Tamias (or Eutamias) sibiricus, the Siberian Chipmunk (this one has build up populations in Urban-suburban areas in some german cities). Whereas T. sibiricus has a back pattern of black and white stripes along its back, this chipmung has a greyisch brown back with a not very clear, slightly darker stripe in the middle and a white stripe on the upper flank at each side surrounded by black stripes.
A search in the web suggests that this may have been an Eastern chipmunk (Eutamias striatus) from North America. This is not totally unlikely as several pet shops in Germany now offer another NA rodent (Prairie dogs!) as pets(Well, I think that´s crazy-they are no pets).
But the photos I saw in the web don´t let me feel 100% happy as the back was not too well visible.
Can anybody shed light on this , or has a photograph of an Eastern Chipmunk`s back?
Many thanks!
Joern
2 weeks ago I saw a chipmunk in Wuppertal, Northrhine-Westphalia, western Germany, which was not the species Tamias (or Eutamias) sibiricus, the Siberian Chipmunk (this one has build up populations in Urban-suburban areas in some german cities). Whereas T. sibiricus has a back pattern of black and white stripes along its back, this chipmung has a greyisch brown back with a not very clear, slightly darker stripe in the middle and a white stripe on the upper flank at each side surrounded by black stripes.
A search in the web suggests that this may have been an Eastern chipmunk (Eutamias striatus) from North America. This is not totally unlikely as several pet shops in Germany now offer another NA rodent (Prairie dogs!) as pets(Well, I think that´s crazy-they are no pets).
But the photos I saw in the web don´t let me feel 100% happy as the back was not too well visible.
Can anybody shed light on this , or has a photograph of an Eastern Chipmunk`s back?
Many thanks!
Joern
