Happy Groundhog Day

—Mary Gillick, Program Director

The groundhog, woodchuck, whistle pig, or Marmot monax.
(Photo: nationalgeographic.com)

One of our larger rodents, the woodchuck, or groundhog, is a member of the squirrel family. The name may have originated from the Indian word "wuchak". The males can grow to two feet long and weigh up to thirteen pounds while the females are smaller, generally weighing no more than ten pounds. Known to inhabit backyards and raid vegetable gardens, the groundhog is usually not a welcome resident near our homes.

In the wild, they commonly dig their burrows in wooded areas close to open fields.  They are active during the day and don't stray too far from their burrow entrances. Their fur usually is brown and their body is wider than tall.  Besides vegetation, groundhogs eat grubs, insects and invertebrates.  While they can stand upright to look for enemies like foxes or hawks they usually keep close to the ground.

The main burrow can extend for thirty feet underground and be two to five feet deep.  The groundhog, or whistle pig, is one of our true mammal hibernators sleeping for close to five months.  After gorging themselves on seeds and berries in autumn their bodies enter a dormant stage where their heartbeat and respiration are reduced.  During the winter months they may lose close to half their body fat.  Lengthening daylight wakes them up with the males emerging from separate burrows early in March.

The legend of Groundhog Day on February 2nd originates from a European tradition where a hedgehog burrow was watched during the midpoint between the solstice and the spring equinox.