Hopi chipmunk

The Hopi chipmunk, Neotamias rufus, is a small, striped chipmunk of the southwestern United States, recorded in western Colorado, eastern Utah and northern Arizona. It was previously grouped with the Colorado chipmunk before being treated as a species of its own. Adults weigh roughly 50 to 60 grams and measure about 190 to 235 millimetres from nose to tail tip, and females run slightly larger than males. The back fur is more orange-red or buff than in its relatives, with stripes that carry little black. The animal favours rocky ground such as rubble at the foot of cliffs and crevices in rock faces, mostly in piñon and juniper country, where it nests in rock piles or fissures. It feeds mainly on nuts, seeds and fruits, carries food in its cheek pouches and caches it near the den. Hopi chipmunks are timid, quick and sure-footed on steep rock, and the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern because it is common, widespread and faces no major threats.