Our featured #SpeciesOfTheWeek this week is the Eastern Chipmunk. Residing in hardwood forests, chipmunks are quite common at Murphys Point. While normally seen alone, defending their burrow, Eastern Chipmunks are often found with others of their kind during their mating season — February to April and June to August. During the winter, chipmunks enter a state of torpor which enables them to cope with the decreased food availability. The Eastern Chipmunk’s Latin name, Tamias striatus, appropriately means ‘striped storer’ — their daily activity is mostly taken up by foraging and transporting food in pouches in their cheeks to be stored in their burrows for winter. Chipmunks are regularly sighted on the Silver Queen Mine Trail – you may see one on a guided hike to the mica mine!