Since 1887, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has made quite a to-do over their groundhog's emergence on February 2nd. Groundhog Day originated in Europe where, centuries ago, Europeans sought to predict the final stages of winter by keeping an eye out for badgers. Folklore has it that if the groundhog is seen on an overcast day, spring will come early. If it's sunny, and he sees his shadow and is frightened back into his burrow, six more weeks of winter weather will follow. The woodchuck is a furry butterball in the rodent family that looks a little like a chunky pear with brown grizzled fur.
Woodchucks are true hibernators.
As early as September or as late as November, the woodchuck waddles down its burrow, crawls into its nest and falls into a deep sleep. Breathing as little as ten times an hour, while maintaining a body temperature between 37 and 57 degrees, a woodchuck will hibernate until it emerges in late winter to search for a mate. Then the mated pair will resume hibernation until spring. Only animals that can store enough food reserves in the form of accumulated body fats are able to hibernate. He does this by sniffing each burrow for a single female.