Saturday, January 3, 2015

An Ambitious Chipmunk

This is part of an ongoing series recapping my 2008 trip to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

A funny thing happened on the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.  My hubby and I had arrived at Abbot Pass Viewpoint (read all about our hike here), perched on a nearby rock, and sat back to enjoy the fantastic panorama of mountains and glaciers.  I was pulling out a snack, when Roger discovered we had a visitor.


"Hello there!"

A cute little chipmunk took advantage of Roger's open backpack.  He jumped inside and struck a pose. 


Roger gets a photo

A photo op we could not resist!


Checking out our backpack

The little guy was rooting around for food, when he caught a whiff of our trailmix.


"What's that I smell?"

Mr. Chipper edged closer and closer to Roger.  When Roger looked down, the little guy was right under his pant leg.  We couldn't believe he had the nerve to get so close!


"I think it's trail mix"

And then.....the chipmunk scurried onto Roger's leg....


"I see the goodies!"

.....ran across his lap, and began climbing his upper body.


"They're just on the end of this guy's arm"

No one expects to become a chipmunk climbing wall!  Not wanting to encourage our furry friend, Roger held his bag of trailmix as far away as possible.


"C'mon!  You know you want to share!"

But the little guy didn't give up easily.  He hopped on Roger's camera and continued moving up.  I did what any good wife would do - laughed hysterically, and kept the shutter clicking.


"Pretty please?"

Finally, Mr. Chipper scrambled so high he was nearly face to face with his prey.  Roger kept yelling and waving his arms, but it didn't seem to have any effect.   Roger could have pushed the chipmunk off, however, he didn't want to risk getting bit.


If all else fails, BEG!

Finally, admitting defeat, the chipmunk scurried off my husband.  Perched atop Roger's backpack, he turned on the cuteness, making one final plea for food.

Roger and I both agreed it was the most aggressive chipmunk we'd ever seen.  We make a point not to feed wild animals, but after such a bold encounter, we assumed lots of other hikers had.  Luckily, no trail mix nor chipmunks were harmed, and we walked away with a bunch of great photos and a really funny story.


Sharing with:  Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters.

34 comments:

  1. LOL! Don't know how you managed to keep the camera still to get these great shots.

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  2. Cute critter- surprisingly tame

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  3. Yes, I'm sure lots of other people did! We paid an exorbitant price for tea in the chateau, where there was a chipmunk running in and out of the open fire door!

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  4. oh, my goodness! very 'in your face' about what he wanted! i'd have been worried about getting bit, too. SO cute, though. :)

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  5. OHMYGOSH...cuteness overload! This one is overly tame; no doubt exposed to many, many people.

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  6. that's a great story backed up with proof cuteness can happen anytime, anywhere. such an adorable little chipmunk. many smiles on this side. hope your new year is filled with many more stories such as this one. have a great night~

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  7. Brilliant photos of a startling yet adorable encounter!

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  8. What a sweet and curious little chipmunk, Linda, and he was not shy. I love this series, you made my day. :)

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  9. So so cute! I'm glad it wasn't a bear that came after the food!

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  10. Loved this! Talk about CLOSE encounters! LOL.
    Blessings, Aimee

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  11. "..the chipmunk scurried off my husband." Funniest sentence I've read in a while!!
    Good call on not wanting to get bitten..I do know people who have been bitten by chipmunks, and that one is a whole lot larger than the chipmunks we have here in MN!
    I was just trying to figure out what kind of huge chipmunks they have in Banff (because I'm a nerd like that) and I think what you have there climbing on your husband is a golden mantled ground squirrel. Who knew!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-mantled_ground_squirrel

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  12. Awesome shots of this cute little critter! That's certainly up close and personal.

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  13. Dearest Linda; Wow; How LOVELY to see the cute critter SO friendly :-) I've never thought they won't afraid of people like that.
    I DO hope you had a wonderful head start of 2015, my friend☆☆☆ Lots of Love and Hugs, xoxo Miyako*

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  14. Oh wow, I have never seen a chipmunk so brave and it must have been so hungry. What a great series, Linda. Thank you for linking up and sharing your funny post.. Have a happy Sunday!

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  15. You are right about the other hikers spoiling this guy. He is used to people.
    PS: Beautiful scenery in the 2nd photo.

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  16. Cute little guy and very brave. Yep, he's used to being fed by humans.

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  17. Normally those kind of incidents are over before you reach for your camera. So well done for having your camera on hand to record such a funny episode.

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  18. Yikes! He's agressive, all right, and knew exactly what he wanted. I once saw a marmot like that, in a place where people congregate at a summit. Yes, he was definitely used to being fed by hikers. Great shots, though! :-)

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  19. The golden mantled ground squirrel we encountered in the Tetons was bold but not quite that bold! The ranger warned us ahead of time and reminded everybody not to feed them. Great series of shots, I'm the same kind of wife that you are. Our poor husbands.

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  20. Super sweet
    love at first sight (bite);-))
    Regards Frank

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  21. Great photos of a wild encounter...yes they can bite! I would have made a trail of trail mix:)

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  22. What an amazing "wild animal." Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  23. Amazing pictures! Very funny :-)) Marit

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  24. Linda, such incredible shots of the ground squirrel. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I'll be back!

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  25. Oh my gosh, this is beyond adorable! I'm so glad you could continue to snap pictures through your fits of laughter! Amazing photos!

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  26. That's just way too funny to see!

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  27. Thats great - in the UK it would be a sheep! Which would be less good! Here it may be a wallaby!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  28. Crazy and cute shots!

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  29. Great shots, Linda. I always worry about these little guys that get used to being fed by humans, and don't get around to stockpiling food for winter hibernation. I suspect they don't make it through.

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  30. That chipmunk is cute, but I would wonder why it's so aggressive. Great shots!

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  31. Hi! This chipmunk is very cute. This one knows that human beings are not harmful. No feeding is very nice. Thanks for sharing.

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  32. Super adorable chipper and yes quite a bold little thing.

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  33. What a cutie and obviously not timid!

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  34. Of all the woodland creatures, I find chipmunks so endearing. Great photos!

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