How come you know so much about chipmunks?

...was a question I was asked on our almost-wilderness hike on Monday.

The answer:
Because in Michigan and in the scientific community, there's a difference between chipmunks and squirrels.

Here is a chipmunk:



Note the tail: It's generally shorter than a squirrel's and less bushy. Also, notice the black and white stripes on it's back.












Here is a squirrel:














Longer arms, longer tail, no stripes, and a taste for blood differentiate squirrels from chipmunks.
They're much less adorable and, the longer you look at the word "squirrel" the weirder it looks.

There is something telling about that.