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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Neotamias townsendii
Townsend's Chipmunk

 
Scientific Name: Neotamias townsendii (Bachman, 1839)
English Name: Townsend's Chipmunk
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Classification Level: Species
Taxonomy Comments: January 2006 Changed to Neotamias from Tamias as per NatureServe. See Global Taxonomy Comments (DDW).
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: M-NETO
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Mammalia Rodentia Sciuridae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Apr 2016)
Provincial Status: S4S5 (Mar 2024)
BC List: Yellow
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: Reddish brown pelage, with two grayish, brownish, or whitish dark-bordered stripes on each side of the back, a dark stripe down the middle of the back, and a whitish stripe above and below each eye; long bushy tail, the underside of which is reddish brown or tawny; back side of ear blackish in front, gray in rear; brown stripe below ear; total length to around 30 cm.
Global Reproduction Comments: Mating occurs in spring, young are born in May-June, and young appear above ground by July (Washington Cascade Mountains). Gestation lasts about 4 weeks. Average litter size is 3.8. Young appear above ground in July(Kenagy and Barnes 1988). Individual females produce one litter each year. Breeding first occurs at an age of 1 or 2 years. Some live as long as 7 years.
Global Ecology Comments: In one area, home ranged averaged 0.8 ha and density was 2.6 adults/ha (see Sutton 1993). In Oregon, density was 0.6-1.1/ha in virgin forest (see Sutton 1993).

Weasels, mink, and bobcats are important predators.

Feeding experiments in British Columbia indicated that the population was limited by food availability (see Sutton 1993).

See Sutton (1993) for information on ecological interactions between T. TOWNSENDII and T. AMOENUS.
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		Y /
N /
N /
na /
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Townsends chipmunks are most often associated with dense mesic closed-canopy coniferous forests, coniferous tree islands, and dense brushy thickets, including clearcut areas, especially several years after harvest and/or if slash is left. They generally occur under or among brush, slash, and other protective cover.
Food Habits: Frugivore: Adult, Immature
Granivore: Adult, Immature
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Diverse diet. Eats seeds, nuts, fruits, insects, roots, green vegetation, fungi. Forages mostly on ground but sometimes also in trees. Caches food in burrow.

Fungi are important in the diet of Townsends chipmunks. These chipmunks are among the dispersal agents for fungi that play important roles in forest nutrient cycles.
Global Phenology: Diurnal: Adult, Immature
Hibernates/aestivates: Adult, Immature
Global Phenology Comments: Activity occurs in daytime and may vary seasonally. Most activity occurs from March to late November, but the duration of inactivity is longer at higher elevations, especially in areas covered by deep snow, and the species may be active all winter in warmer areas, especially along the coast (Banfield 1974).
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 32/ / 109
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Range extends along the Pacific coast of North America, from extreme southwestern British Columbia south to southern Oregon (Rogue River), southward in the western Cascades to the headwaters of the Rogue River (Sutton 1993).
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Feb 02, 2010
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
Dalquest. W. W. 1948. Mammals of Washington. University of Kansas Museum Natural History Publ. 2:1-444.
Jones, J. K., Jr., D. C. Carter, H. H. Genoways, R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, and C. Jones. 1986. Revised checklistof North American mammals north of Mexico, 1986. Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ., 107:1-22.
Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
Kenagy, G. J., and B. M. Barnes. 1988. Seasonal reproductive patterns in four coexisting rodent species from the Cascade Mountains. J. Mamm. 69:274-292.
Levenson, H. and R. S. Hoffmann. 1984. Systematic relationships among taxa in the Townsend chipmunk group. Southwestern Nat., 29:157-168.
Levenson, H., et al. 1985. Systematics of the Holarctic chipmunks (Tamias). J. Mammalogy 66:219-242.
Maser, C., and Z. Maser. 1988. Interactions among squirrels, mycorrhizal fungi, and coniferous forests in Oregon. Great Basin Nat. 48:358-369.
Maser, C., B. R. Mate, J. F. Franklin, and C. T. Dyrness. 1981. Natural history of Oregon coast mammals. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Expt. Sta., USDA, Forest Service, Gen Tech. Rep. PNW-133:1-496.
Nadler, C. F., et al. 1982. Evolution in ground squirrels.II. Biochemical comparisons in Holarctic populations of Spermophilus. Z. Sauget. 47:198-215.
Nagorsen, D. W. 2005b. The rodents and lagomorphs of British Columbia. Royal B.C. Mus. Handb., Victoria, BC. 410pp.
Nagorsen, D., M. Fraker, and N. Panter. 2002. Chipmunks of the Kootenay Region, British Columbia: Distribution, Identification, Taxonomy, Conservation Status. Rep. prepared for Columbia Basin Fish and Wildl. Compensation Program. Nelson, BC.
Sullivan, T. P. 1990. Demographic responses of small mammal populations to a herbicide application in coastal coniferous forest: population density and resiliency. Can. J. Zool. 68:874-883.
Sutton, D. A. 1987. Analysis of Pacific coast Townsend chipmunks (Rodentia: Sciuridae). Southwest Nat. 32:371-376.
Sutton, D. A. 1992. Tamias amoenus. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 390:1-8.
Sutton, D. A. 1993. Tamias townsendii. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 435:1-6.
Sutton, D.A. and C.F. Nadler. 1974. Systematic revision of three Townsend chipmunks (Eutamias townsendii). The South- western Naturalist 19(2):199-212.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2010. Species Summary: Neotamias townsendii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Sep 4, 2026).