[PGR88]

groundhogs are extremely skittish creatures. They will flee quickly when approached by humans, dogs or any larger creature.

The fact this one didn’t indicates it was rabid or sick.

[MrEdd]

In my neck of the woods, it’s usually rabies.

[rlmorel]

I think I read that groundhogs are the only rodent that carries rabies. Reason enough.

[Vigilanteman]

Yeah, plus they are not the cute little cuddly creatures like Punxsutawney Phil portrays.They can destroy you vegetable garden in just a few hours if they have a mind to and dig holes in your dike which can flood your yard or basement.

Their dual virtues are (1)they are easy enough to shoot with a pistol if you are a decent shot and (2)they make tasty jerky if you know how to process it. Pennsylvania's nice friendly little town of Punxsutawney will actually hand out recipes during the Ground Hog Day celebration if you ask around.

Furthermore, if you can convince the locals that you are genuinely interested in sampling some, they might even give you a taste or point out where you can buy some. Like most of us out in the SW corner of the state, they are a little wary of city slickers who want to paint us as a bunch of hicks who kill and eat wild game, especially the town mascot.