Groundhog
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
see woodchuck.
More on Groundhog
Woodchuck - or groundhog, common name of a North American species of marmot, Marmota monax.
Groundhog/Woodchuck
Groundhog is another name for Woodchuck. This rodent is a type of marmot. These solitary mammals (sleep through winter) in burrows. Groundhogs are found in North America in forests and fields.
Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular American custom of Groundhog Day, held on the second of February every year.
Groundhogs' persistent digging helps till the soil, and their waste adds fertilizer. In addition, groundhog burrows provide shelter for many other animals, including rabbits, chipmunks, opossums, raccoons, and skunks.
Groundhog
Marmota monax (scientific)
Groundhogs live in fields, farmland, suburban parks and any open space that has protection for their dens. They can be found throughout the eastern half of the United States.
The Groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as the Woodchuck, or the Whistlepig (particularly in the Southern United States), is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.
Diet
Groundhogs, marmots, foxes, skunks, cats, rabbits, grouse, ground squirrels, crows, pheasants, meadowlarks, tortoises, and snakes.
Woodchuck, Groundhog (Marmota Monax)
Note: This encounter date & time is approximate, the original date information is 'June 2008'. Species Family: Mammal. Observation List: 2008 ...
OTHER NAMES: Groundhog, Chuck, Marmot, Whistle Pig
DESCRIPTION: The woodchuck is a member of the squirrel family Sciuridae and classified as a rodent.
The Woodchuck or Groundhog is one of three species of marmots that occur in Alberta. They are actually a group of large, ground-dwelling squirrels. None of their current ranges overlap in Alberta.
Also known as the Groundhog or the Whistle-pig, the Woodchuck thrives in forest borders through much of the eastern United States, across Canada, and into Alaska. Socially, Woodchucks live singly from the time they are weaned at six weeks of age.
In North America they are called groundhogs or woodchucks. Marmots use lookouts to watch for predators. When a predator is spotted, the lookout whistles loudly.
*** Punxutawney Phil, the groundhog from Punxutawney, Pennsylvania, USA, whose peek at his own shadow on Groundhog Day is an annual harbinger of Spring, is actually a marmot.
The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for "earth pig" or "ground pig" (aarde earth/ground, varken pig), because of its burrowing habits (similar origin to the name groundhog).
Woodchucks (also known as groundhogs or whistle-pigs) are found from east central Alaska south to northern Idaho and across southern Canada in the west.
That, of course, is the origin of Groundhog Day on February 2, when woodchucks’ hibernation habits are used to “predict' how much longer winter will last.
Predators of eggs and nestlings include Raccoons, Virginia Opossums, Striped Skunks, Gray foxes, raptors, Groundhogs, other rodents, spotted skunks, rat snakes, Gopher Snakes, and pinesnakes.
Description
: The woodchuck or groundhog is a member of the marmot family, which is a large group of ground-dwelling squirrels. It is the best known of the American marmots.
The woodchuck is also commonly known as the groundhog. It is a kind of marmot (as are squirrels, prairie dogs and chipmunks), and marmots are rodents. It is a herbivore.
The burrows are more flattened than groundhog dens and are shaped in half moons, which conforms with the general body shape of the badger. Generally, the tunnels are found in well-drained soils and may be 30 feet long and five feet deep.
Marmots are rodents, closely related to both ground squirrels and prairie dogs.
The only US holiday named after an animal, Groundhog Day, is named after a marmot.
Yellow-bellied marmots hibernate in burrows during the winter ...
Jack Russells are first and foremost a working terrier. Originally bred to bolt fox from their dens during hunts, they are used on numerous ground-dwelling quarry such as groundhog, badger, and red and grey fox.
Dens can be found in fencerows, in the middle of fields, on woodland edges, ridges, or any place that can provide shelter. Fox dens typically have two or more openings, and can be created by excavating woodchuck (groundhog) or even badger holes.
 See also: Coyote, Squirrel, Burro, Woodchuck, Marmot
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