The woodchuck comes in a wide variety of colours but the most common is chestnut brown. The home range of the woodchuck is very small. It stays near its burrow and seldom travels more than 90 metres away. The woodchuck hibernates each winter and must build up thick layers of fat during the summer and fall seasons. It eats a wide variety of food, including grasses, clover, and grain.
Favourite foods are apples and garden plants such as lettuce and cabbage.
These eating habits make him very unpopular with farmers and gardeners. The woodchuck is slow moving, so it can be hunted by fast-moving animals such as wolves, coyotes, foxes, and dogs. Its main defense is its burrow. It stays close to the burrow and listens, looks, and smells for signs of danger. Any unusual sounds, movements, or smells send it scurrying for home and the safety of the burrow.