Cliff Chipmunk
Tamias dorsalis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassMammalia (Mamífers)
- OrderRodentia (Rosegadors)
- FamilySciuridae (Squirrels)
- GenusTamias
- SpeciesTamias dorsalis (Cliff Chipmunk)
The cliff chipmunk (Neotamias dorsalis) is a small, bushy-tailed squirrel that typically lives along cliff walls or boulder fields bordering Pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Western United States and Mexico (commonly spotted in northern Arizona to Colorado). Cliff chipmunks are very agile, and can often be seen scaling steep cliff walls. Cliff chipmunks do not amass body fat as the more common ground squirrel does. They create caches of food which they frequent during the cold winter months. Wikipedia →
50–60% of wildlife watchers report a Cliff Chipmunk sighting in Grand Canyon National Park, based on 275 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Grand Canyon National Park
Uinta Chipmunk
Tamias umbrinus
Least Chipmunk
Tamias minimus
Rock Squirrel
Otospermophilus variegatus
Abert's Squirrel
Sciurus aberti
White-tailed Antelope Squirrel
Ammospermophilus leucurus
American Red Squirrel
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Callospermophilus lateralis
Gunnison's Prairie Dog
Cynomys gunnisoni
American Beaver
Castor canadensis
Deer Mouse
Peromyscus maniculatus
Mexican Vole
Microtus mexicanus
Quiller
Erethizon dorsatus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Cliff Chipmunk in Grand Canyon National Park?
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cliff Chipmunk sighting in Grand Canyon National Park, based on 275 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Cliff Chipmunk in Grand Canyon National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for Cliff Chipmunk in Grand Canyon National Park in our monthly data.