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!