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The Ground Hog
Nature Bulletin No. 50 January 26, 1946
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Clayton F. Smith, President
Roberts Mann, Superintendent of Conservation
THE GROUND HOG
February
2 is Ground Hog Day. The ground hog or woodchuck, known
also as the "whistle pig", is supposed to wake from his long hibernation,
take a peek at the weather, and either go back to sleep for another six
weeks or stay awake in anticipation of an early spring -- depending
upon whether or not the sun is shining. He gets a lot of publicity, but
like Greta Garbo, all he wants is to be alone.
They are solitary surly animals. Each adult has its own burrow. They
are very wary but occasionally you may spy one, alarmed, sitting bolt
upright like a statue, listening. If he sees or hears you he will give a
loud, piercing whistle and scamper clumsily for his den. Cornered by a
dog he fights fiercely.
The woodchuck and his cousin, the marmot, are the largest of our
gnawing animals -- the rodents -- excepting only the beaver. They
belong to the same family as the tree squirrel, the ground squirrel, the
chipmunk and the prairie dog, all of which lack canine teeth but have
four incisors ( 2 above and 2 below) which grow constantly and have to
be kept down by gnawing.
The Southern Woodchuck which we have here is one of 7 subspecies. It
is grizzled brownish-gray above, lighter underneath, with long coarse
hair and a softer underfur. The pelt is seldom used and they are seldom
eaten, although they are strictly vegetarian and the flesh of a young one
is well-flavored. They have a heavy-set body, short bushy tail, blunt
nose, low ears, small eyes, and powerful legs armed with strong claws
for digging.
And how they dig! Each burrow is an elaborate affair with branching
galleries, several entrances, sometimes used in winter by other animals.
Often they are dug in meadows rather than a hillside. Because this
creates hazards for livestock and because woodchucks destroy large
patches of grass, clover and alfalfa, farmers try to exterminate them.
They do not store up food but spend most of the time above ground,
eating so that in October they can retire to their burrows, fat as pigs, to
hibernate in death-like sleep until March. What a life!
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Update: June 2012
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