Répartition en France d'un animal de compagnie naturalisé, le Tamia de Sibérie (Tamias sibiricus)

Abstract

Distribution in France of a naturalized pet, the Siberian Chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus). — The Siberian Chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) has been sold in pet shops of various European countries since the 1960’ s, and voluntarily released in the wild since the 1970’ s. In 2000, I held a national inquiry of the wardens of the National Forests Office. The results of this survey, supplemented by other sources, showed the presence of seven populations established in suburban forests and in urban parks of the Région Ile-de-France, and of three populations established in forests of the Région Picardie. Some of these populations number several thousands of individuals. Their origin may be related to deliberate introduction of a presumably low number of individuals, introduced by owners. The only exception is the Villers-Carbonnel (Picardie) population, where about 30 individuals escaped from a pet shop. Some populations seem to spread out at a rate of 200 to 250 m per year, at least during the first decades following their introduction. Weekly censuses on strip-transects were done on one population (Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine), between March 2000 and February 2004. In 2002, 15 adults were marked with ear tags and followed between April and October. These observations, along with observations from other studies in the species native area, in other European countries, or in captivity, allowed me to list the principal features of the life history of T. sibiricus, and to discuss the potential of this introduced squirrel to become an invasive species on the French territory.