Today’s special animal friend is the groundhog, Marmota monax. The groundhog is also known as a woodchuck, chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk, and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux. They are rodents (order Rodentia) of the squirrel family (family Sciuridae). The Marmota genus includes 15 species found in Asia, Europe, and North America. The groundhog is an unusual marmot in that it lives in lowland rather than mountainous habitats.
The groundhog is one of the largest marmots, with a length up to 27 inches and weight approaching 14 lbs., about the weight of Jake, the cat who sleeps with me. Males are significantly larger than females. Both sexes gain weight during the fall, when they engage in “autumn hyperphagia,” extreme eating, to build up fat reserves for their winter hibernation.
Groundhogs have four large incisors, which grow up to 1.5 mm per week and are worn down about the same amount by gnawing. Unlike the teeth of many rodents, the groundhog’s are white to ivory-colored rather than orange with iron. Mainly herbivorous, they eat wild grasses, berries, agricultural crops, and a wide variety of herbs and greens. Their diet also includes some small invertebrates and baby birds, in season.
Like most small mammals, groundhogs have many predators, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, dogs; birds of prey; wild, feral, and domestic cats; mustelids including mink and badgers; and snakes. They are also hunted as a pest in some states. For defense, the woodchuck has long, strong claws, excellent burrowing skills, and the ability to climb trees and to swim. In the wild, their life span averages about three years; in captivity, they can live over ten years.
A groundhog may have more than one burrow, allowing for many avenues of escape and concealment. The burrows can be over four feet below the surface and more than 40 feet in length. They are solitary dwellers, except when breeding, but sometimes live within sight of other individuals. They are aggressive toward their own species and any others that encroach. Females breed in their second (and sometimes third) year, producing up to six young per litter.
The Groundhog Day tradition is believed to have originated in Germany, where the animal was a badger, and to draw on folk beliefs regarding the Christian holiday of Candlemas, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple forty days after Christmas. The concept was popularized in the United States by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Wikipedia feels it necessary to inform us that there is no scientific evidence of a correlation between sunshine (or not) on February 2 and future weather patterns.
I was going to look that up but I got side-tracked, either by a squirrel or by something shiny or both.
However, that was a veritable font of information, and I thank you for going to all the trouble to look that up and post the information for us.
Why one of my late brothers would choose to be born on such a day boggles the mind, but since he’s no longer with us, I can’t ask him. Nor can I ask his mother. Who was, incidentally, my mother, as well. ;o]
When my Favorite Daughter and The Guy moved to Colorado, she was all gushy over the first “marMOT” she had ever seen until I told her it was just a rat with a hormonal imbalance.
In other news, I have a Zoom meeting at 1930 tonight, and I wish I knew how to get out of it. At least today is the end of this tea cycle, so I can shut my alarm off for the morning. I think.
For what it’s worth, I think they look a lot like beavers, but without the flat tail.