"Here is a photo of a Pennsylvania Ground Hog/Marmot......"https://bruceandsallywitt.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/prairie-dogs-in-pennsylvania/
That is not a prairie dog; it’s a groundhog (woodchuck). I live in Pa and have sent many of these critters to that big den in the sky at the request of several local farmers.
"Here is a photo of a Pennsylvania Ground Hog/Marmot......"https://bruceandsallywitt.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/prairie-dogs-in-pennsylvania/
Nope. It’s definitely a prairie dog. I had a pet woodchuck. Color’s tan and the hair is uniform in color along it’s length which is wrong for a woodchuck as chucks are dark gray with light gray frosting on the tips of the hair. The picture shows no groundhog facial patterns of very light fur around the nose and eyes, and the belly’s all wrong- the woodchuck’s belly fur is nowhere near that uniform, usually has a ribbed look to it and the fur is thinner, usually thin enough to see pink skin on either side of the midline...not to mention in the woodchuck the central strip of hair is much more distinct.
Woodchuck paws are very dark grayish brown, almost black. The PD in the picture has tan paws.
The woodchuck has rusty colored fur only around its armpits and a very pronounced thumblike structure on the underside of its forepaws and since they can use it like a human uses a thumb they are adept at climbing; I don’t think pDogs have the structure or capability.