The Difference Between Squirrels and Chipmunks

For all of you Spanish speakers out there you must know the word ardilla. It is translated as squirrel in the dictionary. But wait, say that you get curious one day and you want to look up the word "Chipmunk", you will also see ardilla.

This was brought to my attention when the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks came out and my friend G. was referring to it as Alvin and the Squirrels. She insisted that a squirrel was the same a chipmunk and that I had it wrong. You see, in Spanish Alvin and the Chipmunks is
ALVIN Y LAS ARDILLAS!!!

Anyways, here is the difference between a squirrel and a chipmunk. G. claimed that the only reason I saw any difference at all between the two fuzzy rodents was because I'm from Minnesota and we make weird distinctions for animals. So. Not. True. They are different! Right?

SquirrelChipmunk