The seed gatherers

Chipmunks -- Left: eating (Photo by Alan Dibb), Right: full cheeks (Photo by Larry Halverson)

Chipmunks are energetic seed gathers, who can transport huge loads in their expandable cheek pouches. Studies tell of one chipmunk who had 1,650 cranberry seeds in his cheeks. Some food is cached directly in their dens, but most is hidden nearby. These cashes suffer considerable loss because of pilferage by other rodents and their own forgetfulness of where they hide it. Some of the buried seeds grow into plants, so we can consider the chipmunk as one of nature’s gardeners.