|
|
|
Groundhog, also known as the woodchuck, land beaver, or the whistlepig, is the common name of a North American species of marmot, Marmota monax. In the United States and Canada, there is the Groundhog Day celebration, that gives the groundhog some added popularity. This large rodent is found in open woods and ravines throughout most of Canada and the NE United States. Its heavyset body is about 2 ft (60 cm) long, excluding the 6 in. (15 cm) tail, and is covered with thick, coarse, brownish hair. A terrestrial, day-active animal, it feeds on green vegetation. It has benefited by the clearing of forests for cultivation, and, despite the attacks of farmers, its numbers have increased. It nests in a burrow of many compartments, where it also hibernates in winter. According to an old superstition the groundhog leaves its burrow on Feb. 2, Groundhog Day, and returns underground for six weeks if it sees its shadow; thus, a sunny Feb. 2 supposedly means six more weeks of winter. Woodchucks are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Sciuridae.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Groundhog Trivia
- The name woodchuck has nothing etymologically to
do with wood. It stems from an Algonquian name for the animal (possibly
Narragansett), wuchak.
- A popular tongue-twister, associated to the Woodchuck
(Groundhog), goes as follows :
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
— A woodchuck would chuck no amount of wood since a woodchuck can't
chuck wood" (alternative second verse: "He would chuck what a
woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.").
- Groundhogs are typically 40 to 65 cm (17 to 26 in)
long (including a 15 cm tail) and weigh 2 to 4 kg. In areas with fewer natural
predators and large quantities of alfalfa, they can grow to 80 cm (32 in)
and 14 kg (30 lb). They can live up to six years in the wild, and ten years
in captivity.
- The groundhog is one of a small number of species
that have grown greatly in numbers since the arrival of European settlers
in North America, since the clearing of forests provided it with much more
suitable habitat. It prefers open country and the edges of woodland. As
a consequence, it is a familiar animal to many people in the United States
and Canada.
- Groundhogs are excellent burrowers, using burrows
for sleeping, rearing young, and hibernating. The burrows generally have
two exits, and the groundhog rarely ventures far from one of them for safety.
While preferring to flee from would-be predators, the groundhog is known
to viciously defend its burrow when invaded by predators such as skunks,
foxes, weasels or domestic dogs. It can inflict quite a bit of damage with
its two large incisors and front claws, especially when the predator is
at a disadvantage inside the burrow.
- The Wall Street Journal quotes wildlife expert Richard
Thomas as calculating that the average groundhog moves approximately 1 m³
(35 cubic feet), or 320 kg (700 pounds), of dirt when digging a burrow.
- Usually groundhogs breed in their second year, but
a small percentage may breed as yearlings. The breeding season extends from
early March to middle or late April, following hibernation. A mated pair
will remain in the same den throughout the 28-32 day gestation period. As
birth of the young approaches in April or May, the male will leave the den.
One litter is produced annually, usually containing 2-6 blind, naked and
helpless young. Young groundhogs are weaned and ready to seek their own
dens at five to six weeks of age.
- Most marmots live in rocky and mountainous areas,
but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North
America; for example, it is found in Alaska, Alabama, and Georgia. In the
west it is found only in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia and northern
Washington.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
