Siberian chipmunk – Tamias sibiricus

The native range of the Siberian chipmunk extends from north-west Russia, Arkhangelsk (White River) to Siberia, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Korea and Japan (latitudes 29 ° N-69 ° N). The native range extends to the White River in the west. Further south in Europe (in Russia), the species is present in the taiga to the east of the River Volga. The northern border of its range coincides with the northern border of the taiga, which means that Siberian chipmunks do not live anywhere in the tundra zone, with the exception of certain river valleys.

The species may previously have been present in Sweden and Finland, as literary references exist in North Savo, Ostrobothnia and Dalarna from the 1700s and 1800s. However, since no museum collection information is available, there is no proof of the species’ occurrence.

Siberian chipmunks were introduced to Europe as pets from South Korea in the 1960s. More than 200,000 individuals were imported annually for a period of twenty years and they are now bred as pets in Europe. Since the 1970s, Siberian chipmunks have been observed in the wild, mainly in suburban areas and urban parks. These had escaped from pet owners, pet shops and zoos. Pet owners even released them on purpose, having grown tired of them. They were introduced to parks in Belgium and the Netherlands because they are ornamental animals. In 2009, 22 naturalised populations were known in Europe: 11 in France, three in Italy, three in Belgium, two in Germany, two in the Netherlands and one in Switzerland. Some of these populations are large, comprising thousands of animals. The Siberian Chipmunk was also once present in Austria, but is now absent.

Not all introduced populations have succeeded. For instance, about 400 Siberian chipmunks were released into the Jardin des Plantes park in Paris, France, in 1969, but the population eventually declined and disappeared in 1977. The large number of cats in the park may have contributed to this disappearance. In addition, a small basic population (a small gene pool) may have contributed to the disappearance of Siberian chipmunks from certain areas.

Siberian chipmunks do not spread very easily on their own in nature; their spread tends to be limited to urban areas. Young individuals only spread over short distances, usually less than 100 m (some males up to 500 m), and do not easily cross barriers such as roads. Adults are stationary and their home ranges are small (about 1 ha). Hence the risk of them spreading continues to involve pets that either escape or are released. In most cases, no permanent population is formed because the number of released individuals is low and/or there is a high number of cats in the area.

Pathways and adaptation in Finland

The populations closest to Finland are located in Arkhangelsk and Central Europe, so it is unlikely that the species could spread to our country unaided. Siberian chipmunks are, however, kept as companion animals in Finland, which means that escaped or deliberately released pets could form a feral population in Finland. Individual escapees were, in fact, observed in the Helsinki metropolitan area in the 1990s and in the Turku region in 2006. Siberian chipmunks could probably survive in the Finnish climate, because they are adapted to cold winters and can hibernate in the coldest months.