Typically, you will find a colony of 8 to 10 chipmunks over a single acre of land. The number of chipmunks that can live together in a colony depends on factors like the food supply, lack of predators, and shelter from any natural disasters. These are usually in response to a nearby predator. Nearly every species of chipmunks interacts with each other through alarm calls. You will also get to learn how territorial these animals can be about their food:Įven though they are not social animals, chipmunks can function as a colony. You can check out this video to see how a chipmunk lives and feeds inside its burrow system. Chipmunks bury nuts and other food items in food caches during the summer and fall months to make sure they have enough to eat during the winter. This defensive behavior, where chipmunks protect their home sites from intruders, has evolved as a food saving survival mechanism. Juvenile chipmunks may do the same, but this is not very common. Adult chipmunks will defend these areas throughout the year.

The main tunnel for each burrow system is usually 10 to 30 feet long.

It comprises of many compartments that are used for sleeping, storing food, and discarding waste such as fecal matter and shells. The burrow system used by chipmunks is a complex structure in itself. They are not socially active and prefer isolation and solitude for most of the year. Research indicates that, except for when a mother is raising her babies, only one chipmunk lives in a burrow.Īccording to a study that examined the social system of Eastern chipmunks, you will only see one chipmunk living in a single underground burrow system ( source). Some of the results of my search were ambiguous at best, but here’s what I found out when I dug into the question, “How many chipmunks live in a burrow?” At least that’s what I thought until a quick search on chipmunks and their living habits told me otherwise. Have you ever stumbled across a chipmunk’s burrow system? Given how extensive these things can be, you probably assumed that chipmunks follow some kind of joint family structure where they live together in their burrows.

Chipmunk habitat