how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?!

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, or whistlepig,[2] is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.[3] The groundhog is also referred to as a chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, and red monk. The name "thickwood badger" was given in the Northwest to distinguish the animal from the prairie badger. Monax was an Indian name of the woodchuck, which meant "the digger".[4]:300-301 Young groundhogs may be called chucklings.[5]:66 Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the groundhog is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States and Canada. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Georgia.[6] Contents [hide] 1Description 2Etymology 3Distribution and habitat 4Survival 5Behavior 5.1Diet 5.2Burrows 5.3Hibernation 5.4Reproduction 6Relationship with humans 7References 8Further reading 9External links Description[edit] The groundhog is the largest sciurid in its geographical range, typically measuring 40 to 65 cm (16 to 26 in) long (including a 15 cm (6 in) tail) and weighing 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb). In areas with fewer natural predators and large amounts of alfalfa, groundhogs can grow to 80 cm (30 in) and 14 kg (31 lb). Groundhogs are well adapted for digging, with short, powerful limbs and curved, thick claws. Unlike other sciurids, the groundhog's spine is curved, more like that of a mole, and the tail is comparably shorter as well " only about one-fourth of body length. Suited to their temperate habitat, groundhogs are covered with two coats of fur: a dense grey undercoat and a longer coat of banded guard hairs that gives the groundhog its distinctive "frosted" appearance.[citation needed] Etymology[edit] The etymology of the name woodchuck is unrelated to wood or chucking. It stems from an Algonquian (possibly Narragansett) name for the animal, wuchak.[7] The similarity between the words has led to the popular tongue-twister: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood![8] Distribution and habitat[edit] The groundhog prefers open country and the edges of woodland, and is rarely far from a burrow entrance. Since the clearing of forests provided it with a much more suitable habitat, the groundhog population is probably higher now than it was before the arrival of European settlers in North America. Groundhogs are often hunted for sport, which tends to control their numbers. However, their ability to reproduce quickly has tended to mitigate the depopulating effects of sport hunting.[9] As a consequence, the groundhog is a familiar animal to many people in the United States and Canada.[citation needed] Survival[edit] Groundhogs can climb trees to escape predators In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years with two or three being average. In captivity, groundhogs reportedly live from 9 to 14 years. Common predators for groundhogs include wolves, cougars, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, bears, eagles, and dogs. Young groundhogs are often at risk for predation by snakes, which easily enter the burrow.[citation needed]Man, the domestic dog, and the red fox, in the order named, are the chief enemies of the groundhog.[10]:128-129 In areas of intensive agriculture and dairying regions of the state of Wisconsin, particularly the southern parts, the woodchuck by 1950 had been almost extirpated.[10]:124 Jackson (1961) suggested the amount of damage done by the woodchuck had been exaggerated and that excessive persecution by people substantially reduced its numbers in Wisconsin. In some areas marmots are important game animals and are killed regularly for sport, food, or fur. In Kentucky an estimated 267,500 M. monax were taken annually from 1964 to 1971 (Barbour and Davis 1974)[11] Behavior[edit] Motionless individual, alert to danger, will whistle when alarmed to warn other groundhogs The time spent observing groundhogs by field biologists represents only a small fraction of time devoted to the field research.[12] W.J. Schoonmaker reports that groundhogs may hide when they see, smell or hear the observer.[5]:41"43 Ken Armitage, marmot researcher, states the study of the social biology of the groundhog is well understudied.[13] Despite their heavy-bodied appearance, groundhogs are accomplished swimmers and occasionally climb trees when escaping predators or when they want to survey their surroundings.[14] They prefer to retreat to their burrows when threatened; if the burrow is invaded, the groundhog tenaciously defends itself with its two large incisors and front claws. Groundhogs are generally agonistic and territorial among their own species, and may skirmish to establish dominance.[15] Outside their burrow, individuals are alert when not actively feeding. It is common to see one or more nearly-motionless individuals standing erect on their hind feet watching for danger. When alarmed, they use a high-pitched whistle to warn the rest of the colony, hence the name "whistle-pig".[9][16] Groundhogs may squeal when fighting, seriously injured, or caught by a predator.[16] Other sounds groundhogs may make are low barks and a sound produced by grinding their teeth.[16] When groundhogs are frightened, the hairs of the tail stand straight up, giving the tail the appearance of a hair brush.[citation needed] David P. Barash wrote he witnessed only two occasions of upright play-fighting among woodchucks and that the upright posture of play-fighting involves sustained physical contact between individuals and may require a degree of social tolerance virtually unknown in M. monax. He said it was possible to conclude, alternatively, that upright play-fighting is part of the woodchuck's behavioral repertory but rarely shown because of physical spacing and/or low social tolerance.[17] Diet[edit] Mostly herbivorous, groundhogs eat primarily wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops, when available.[15] Clover, alfalfa, dandelion, and coltsfoot are among preferred groundhog foods.[5]:93 Groundhogs also eat grubs, grasshoppers, insects, snails and other small animals, but are not as omnivorous as many other Sciuridae. Like squirrels, they also have been observed sitting up eating nuts such as shagbark hickory, but unlike squirrels, do not bury them for future use.[citation needed] Ernest Thompson Seton wrote that so far as he knew, the groundhog does not drink water but, like the rabbit, satisfies the need for liquid with juices of food-plants, aided by their sprinkling with rain or dew.[18] Schoonmaker said it is possible groundhogs enjoy the rain water that clings to plants because so far as he was able to determine, groundhogs do not drink and it seemed the juices of plants supplied the needed liquid.[5]:85 Burrows[edit] Groundhogs are excellent burrowers, using burrows for sleeping, rearing young, and hibernating. The average groundhog has been estimated to move approximately 1 m3 (35 cu ft), or 2,500 kg (5,500 lb), of soil when digging a burrow.[citation needed] Though groundhogs are the most solitary of the marmots, several individuals may occupy the same burrow. Groundhog burrows usually have two to five entrances, providing groundhogs their primary means of escape from predators. Burrows are particularly large, with up to 14 metres (46 ft) of tunnels buried up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) underground, and can pose a serious threat to agricultural and residential development by damaging farm machinery and even undermining building foundations.[9] The burrow is used for safety, retreat in bad weather, hibernating, sleeping, love nest, and nursery. In addition to the nest, there is an excrement chamber. The nest chamber may be about twenty inches to three feet below ground surface. It is about sixteen inches wide and fourteen inches high. There are typically two burrow openings or holes. One is the main entrance, the other a spy hole. Description of the length of the burrow often includes the side galleries of the burrow. Excluding the side galleries, Schoonmaker reports the longest was twenty-four feet, with the average length of eleven dens dug out to be fourteen feet.[5]:104-105 W.H. Fisher investigated nine burrows, finding the deepest point to be forty-nine inches down. The longest, including side galleries, was forty-seven feet eleven and one half inches.[4]:306 Bachman mentioned that when the young groundhogs are a few months old, they prepare for separation, digging a number of holes in the area of their early home. Some of these holes were only a few feet deep and never occupied but the numerous burrows gave the impression that groundhogs live in communities.[4]:318 Hibernation[edit] Groundhogs are one of the few species that enter into true hibernation, and often build a separate "winter burrow" for this purpose. This burrow is usually in a wooded or brushy area and is dug below the frost line and remains at a stable temperature well above freezing during the winter months. In most areas, groundhogs hibernate from October to March or April, but in more temperate areas, they may hibernate as little as three months.[19] To survive the winter, they are at their maximum weight shortly before entering hibernation. They emerge from hibernation with some remaining body fat to live on until the warmer spring weather produces abundant plant materials for food. Groundhogs are mostly diurnal, and are often active early in the morning or late afternoon.[20]