June 21, 2002

The chipmunks now have a full body of hair. They are beautiful with cute little black and white masks. They have reached full maturity. I have noticed for the last week that they have been building nests, and Brittani was acting strange. I thought maybe she was "coming into Heat" and day before yesterday my suspicions were confirmed.

The last couple of days the boys have been fighting now and then, and both have been trying to win her affection. She would tease them and just play chase. Today she made her choice. She displayed her choice my turning her back on Lee, and when Chip would appraoch her, she would jump on him or sit up and touch him with her paws.

She chose Chip. Poor rejected Lee spent most of his broken hearted day nestled within his washcloth nest, while Brittani and Chip went through an intense courting ritual.

They would play a game of chase, then stop to groom one another. Off they would go again. One would stop to eat and share with the other. They would hustle to the top of the cage doing a ritual dance circling one another, then wrapping their bodies around one another then off again for another bite of food. They would rub their bodies on the cardboard box, which obviously gives off a desired scent, then groom themselves, or groom one another. Chip would try his luck, but off she would go and the chase began.

They would stop the courtship and look for nesting items: a piece of string, shreds of paper, a new place to move…"Let's see should we just make a new entrance to the box or should we move into the spinning wheel. The only thing is that the spinning wheel moves…umm…maybe we can fix that." Then they were off again for another cage top rundevou.

By the 5:00 PM Brittani had just about reached climax.  She would hang upside down on the cage hanging on by her toes, her fur standing on end, her heart racing and stomach pulsing. Chip would groom her and fondle her, but still there was no consummation. Probably because it the first time for them both. A more experienced chipmunk might have "seized the day" at this point.

It reminded me of the courtship of humans. First you play games, then you get the courage to ask her out, you take her to dinner and dancing, and if things go well you get a kiss or kisses. More dates and games. Then you go steady. Engagement, house hunting, then marriage (or at least that is the way it is suppose to be. Sometimes people get it in the wrong order now days)

I had planned to take the Chipmunks to release them into the wild at 6:00 PM. I had my plan all worked out. I would wait until they were all in the box, close it up, and tape it shut. Take them to the school and place them on top of the box that has been made for them, open their box and they would come out slowly and see the wonderful New World…wrong!

I had not anticipated that Chip and Brittani had already made their decision to make the holes at the end of the box into doors for their end of the condo. All three escaped. I have caught Lee, but Brittani and Chip are still escapees.

Chip is on the curtains. He goes up and down grooming his fur; I saw he and Lee chasing each other up and down on them. Then Chip disappeared. I am not sure where he went. After his last "getaway" I am sure he found lots of great places to hide.

I almost had Lee once but he got away. I have been sick for a week, and I am just too weak to be chasing chipmunks. If only they knew what they were escaping from. (A playground with lots of trees, fruit, and other chipmunks.) Chip might just have to play Hudeni again and break them both back in, because I am just not up to chasing chipmunks.