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Do Chipmunks Have Tails? Yes — and It Tells You a Lot

Chipmunks have flat, thin, dark-edged tails they carry upright when running. How the tail differs from a squirrel's, and what it does for the animal.

By Zakaria 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
An eastern chipmunk in profile on a log, its flat thin tail laid out behind it
Photo: Skyler Ewing, Pexels License, via Pexels
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Yes — and it is the opposite of a squirrel’s tail in almost every respect, which is the useful part of the answer.

The comparison that actually answers the question

Chipmunk against grey squirrel
ChipmunkGrey squirrel
Tail length3–4 in8–10 in, near body length
ShapeFlat, thin, sparsePlumed, thick, bushy
CarriedStraight up when runningArched over the back
Main jobSignalling, some balanceBalance, braking, warmth
LivesUnderground burrowsTrees
Face stripesYesNo
A chipmunk and a grey squirrel side by side, with the chipmunk's thin upright tail and facial stripe labelled, and the squirrel's bushy arched tail and lack of stripes labelled
Both tails do a job — they are just different jobs. The facial stripe is the one feature that never appears on a squirrel.

The tail follows the lifestyle. A grey squirrel spends its life in the canopy, where a long plumed tail is a rudder, an air brake and a blanket. A chipmunk spends most of its life in a burrow system that can run thirty feet with chambers barely wider than the animal — and a bushy tail in that setting is nothing but an obstruction.

What the tail does

  • Signals. Held vertical on open ground, it flags position to other chipmunks the way a cottontail’s white scut does
  • Flicks with the alarm call. The sharp chipping and the tail jerk are one display, not two
  • Balances, modestly, when climbing — and chipmunks climb far more than people expect
  • Comes off if grabbed. The tail skin can deglove, letting the animal escape a predator’s grip

A stub-tailed chipmunk is a survivor, not a sick one

Losing part of the tail to a near miss is common, the wound dries and drops away, and it does not grow back. Garden chipmunks with short stubs are ordinary and generally in fine health.

Telling them apart in the garden

If you are trying to work out what is on the patio:

  • Stripes through the face — chipmunk. No North American squirrel has them
  • Size — a chipmunk’s body is 5 to 6 inches; a grey squirrel’s is nearer 10
  • Cheek pouches, visibly bulging with seed — chipmunk
  • On the ground, diving into a hole — chipmunk. Squirrels go up

Ground squirrels are the one genuine confusion: some have body stripes too, but none has the facial stripe, and they are bigger and heavier-set.

Common questions

Do chipmunks have tails?

Yes. A chipmunk's tail is about three to four inches long, roughly a third to a half of its total length, and it is flat rather than plumed — thin, sparsely furred, and usually edged in black with pale tips. The animal carries it straight up when it runs, which is one of the easiest ways to identify a chipmunk crossing open ground at speed.

How is a chipmunk's tail different from a squirrel's?

A grey squirrel's tail is long, thick and bushy — nearly as long as its body, and used as a balance organ and a blanket. A chipmunk's is short, flat and thin, closer to a rudder than a parachute. That difference follows from where each animal lives: squirrels are arboreal and need the tail for balance and braking in trees, while chipmunks are ground animals that spend most of their lives in burrows, where a bushy tail would be an obstruction.

Why do chipmunks hold their tails up?

Mostly as a signal. The raised tail is held vertically when a chipmunk runs across open ground or is alarmed, and it works as a visual flag to other chipmunks in the same way a cottontail's white scut does. It also flicks sharply during the chipping alarm calls, so the tail and the call function together as one display rather than two separate ones.

Can a chipmunk lose its tail?

Yes, and it happens fairly often. The skin of the tail can pull away if a predator grabs it — a degloving injury that lets the animal escape, after which the exposed section dries and falls off. It does not regrow. A chipmunk with a short stub or no tail at all is common enough in gardens and usually gets along perfectly well, though it has lost some of its balance and its signalling.

Do chipmunks use their tails for balance?

To a degree. Chipmunks climb more than people expect — they will go up into shrubs, onto walls and sometimes well up a tree for nuts and seeds — and the tail counterbalances there as it does for any climbing rodent. It is simply far less important to them than to a grey squirrel, which is why it is far less developed.

How do I tell a chipmunk from a squirrel at a glance?

The stripes settle it. Chipmunks have bold dark and pale stripes running along the back and, crucially, across the face through the eye; no squirrel in North America has facial stripes. Beyond that a chipmunk is much smaller, around five to six inches in body length, has a thin upright tail rather than a bushy one, and has cheek pouches it stuffs visibly full of seed.

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