Description: Olympic Chipmunks (Tamias amoenus caurinus) are a subspecies of the widely ranging Yellow-pine Chipmunk. These chipmunks are medium sized, brightly-colored, and have distinct black and white stripes on the back. Stripes on the face are brown and white. The head and body are about 5-inches long, and the tail is about 4 inches long. The ears are black in front and white behind. The tail and sides are tawny.

In the Las Vegas area, only chipmunks have stripes on the face, and chipmunks are equally at home on the ground and in the trees.

Range: Yellow-pine Chipmunks occur throughout the northern Rocky Mountains from northern Utah and eastern Wyoming north into British Columbia. They extend westward to central Washington, the coast of Oregon, and northern California south into the middle Sierra Nevada Mountains. In Nevada, the species occurs in mountains along the northern and eastern edge of the state. Olympic Chipmunks occur only on the Olympic Peninsula of northwestern Washington.

Where to Find: Don't look for this species around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them at middle and higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Look for Olympic Chipmunks on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington; they are common on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.