They range in size from 17 to 20 inches long with 4 to 6 inch long tails, and weigh between 4 and 14 pounds. They are found from the eastern and central United States northward across Canada and into Alaska. They are animals of open fields and woodland edges, where they feed mainly on low green vegetation, and can be extremely harmful to crops. They live on the land, but are good swimmers and climbers. They feed heavily in summer, storing fat for their long winter hibernation.
Groundhogs are excellent diggers, constructing a burrow with a main entrance and an escape tunnel.
Groundhogs generally live alone. This proclamation has caused reverberations from the halls of congress, to the coal fields of Pennsylvania, and in the news media of the country. Another year, there were two stuffed animals, and a wedding was held. This gave rise to a declaration by our congressman, Glen Davis in the Congressional Record that Sun Prairie groundhogs were 'legitimate' and that those in PA were otherwise. This, of course, prompted an equally frivolous response from the Punxsutawney congressman, all printed in the Congressional Record.