Have you seen the real life "Chip 'n Dale?"

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is asking residents to help it track chipmunks east of I-95 within the state. It's the second year biologists have made the request. 

Chipmunks are known to live in the north and west areas of Wake County but were spotted in 2021 in Wilmington, according to the commission.

If you see a chipmunk, the wildlife commission asks you to take a photo of the animal, note the location and email the photo to hwi@ncwildlife.org.

“We really want to encourage people to send us photos and information of any chipmunks they see in any county east of I-95,” Andrea Shipley, a mammalogist with the commission, said. “We will use this information to update our chipmunk distribution map, which we will then use to assess the animal’s conservation status in the state and any need for conservation planning or research we may do in the future.”

Chipmunks are much smaller than squirrels, only 8-10 inches long. Almost half of their body length is their tail, mammalists say. The small rodents have reddish-brown fur with white and black stripes down their back and large pouches in their cheeks to carry food.

Chipmunks are members of the sciuridae family, and the wildlife commission says the creatures can live in both urban and rural habitats, but prefer open woodland and forest edges to dig burrows for protection from predators and have a safe place to sleep in the winter.

The best time to spot a chipmunk is the early morning and late afternoon when they are gathering food, and they are usually spotted on the ground.

“Unlike squirrels, chipmunks spend most of their time foraging on the ground, climbing trees only occasionally,” Shipley said.