A Little Chipmunk I Once Met

	These pictures are of a little chipmunk I befriended in late 1997 or early 1998.  He had gotten where he would come within several inches of my shoe to get a peanut, with me seated on the ground.  This was quite amazing to me, because previously I had only caught darting glances of chipmunks.  As soon as you saw them, they were gone.  This little fellow would stop long enough to stuff his cheeks with peanuts (notice that his stuffed cheeks become shaped like a peanut!!!), then run back to his burrow to store them.  As he would dash into his hole, his little tail would "vibrate" and disappear, as if he were being sucked into a vortex.
Unfortunately, my relationship with this animal was short-lived, because local children began stuffing the entrance to his burrow with dirt and sticks.  Repeatedly, the chipmunk would reopen the passageway, but after perhaps a dozen such incidents, it gave up and moved.            So I lost a little buddy because of a child's stupidity.            Color me unamused.
	At left, you can see how flat his cheeks are before inserting the firmly held peanut.
When I see such an animal standing so casually, I think that he is not a sub-species, but rather a co-animal.  That, at least, is my relationship to him.            I once saw this animal put his head out of his burrow entrance, look around, lean his head way back and yawn so wide his tiny teeth showed.  He then paused and just stood there for a few moments, only his head and arms outside his burrow.  After a few moments, he came out and went right back to work.
	There is nothing prettier than the natural patterns on a wild animal, as the  picture at left shows.   Notice the frosting behind the ears, a trait you will also see on grey squirrels when their winter coats come in.  This must surely mimic ice frosting, making the animal less noticeable to its predators.
Who would try to blockade his burrow just for sport?   Man.
	Pictures left and below show really well the shape of the peanut housed in his cheeks.            That gives you some idea of how small this little fellow was.  He was maybe three peanuts long (excluding his tail).
Did you know that chipmunks are a kind of squirrel too?
	The following two pictures are related.   At left, one peanut is  already in his right cheek,  another peanut is destined for his left cheek.  Below, both peanuts are firmly lodged in his mouth.
What a marvellous little animal !