Gubbertushed!

Published: Sept. 24, 2018, 12:30 p.m.

 

My husband and I were sitting by the fireplace at our cabin in Colorado when we were startled by a bright-eyed chipmunk who scampered in front of us from the back of the sofa.  Although he was cute, we weren’t too happy he found his way into our house. A male chipmunk is called a buck; a female chipmunk is called a doe, and a baby chipmunk is called a kit.  A group of chipmunks is known as a scurry.

The little nut smugglers are diurnal, in other words, they only come out during the daytime. Chipmunks seem to have (FAG-oh-MAY-nee-uh) phagomania or insatiable hunger.  These pudgy-faced charmers have an omnivorous diet primarily consisting of seeds, nuts, fruits, and buds. However, they have been known to eat insects and other arthropods, small frogs, worms, and bird eggs.  What’s a word for having large projecting teeth?  Gubbertushed!