Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-03-26
THE WOOOCHUCk.
Description of a Marmot Which is Other
wise known the Ground Hog.

| Description of Marmot Which is Other
wise known the Ground Hog.
This large marmot, the Arctomys
monax of naturalists, is found from
Hudson's Bay to Virginia, and west to
the Rocky Mountains, and in parts of
many States is yet common. The color
is variable, but I have found grizzly
gray to be the most usual; specimens
of chestnut, and even blackish color,
are sometimes seen. The under sur
face is mostly reddish. The body of
this animal is thick and clumsy, and
the legs are short and muscular; the
thumb is rudimentary, and is provided
with a fat nail instead of claw; the
tail is bushy. Average length of head
and body, nineteen inches; of the tail,
five and half inches. Weight of a
large, fat male, ten pounds.
The ground hog digs burrow from
twenty to thirty feet in length, with a
large chamber at its extreme end; in
this chamber is built a nest of grass
and leaves, and here theyoung are born
and the entire family live. Heaps of
stones, the base of large boulder, or
an old stone wall are the sites general
" chosen for the entrance to
the tunnel. The call of this
marmot is a shrill whistle; it seems
to be used only as a cry of alarm
or warning. When surprised at a
distance from its home, it runs rapidly
for short distance, and then squats
for an instant to see if it be noticed or
pursued, and then runs on again and
stops as before; SO strong is this habit
that have seen a woodchuck stop and
stare for couple of seconds after
rifle bail had struck the fiat rock on
which it was crouched directly under
it. sending little cloud of dust and
spl nters of stone over the animal.
When chased by dogs it makes sw 1T
progress, and if caught turns and tights
fiercelv, often overmastering dog OF
moderate size. Its powerful front teeth
inlet most deep and ugly wounds. The
per DDS of activ ty of this marmot are
in the evening and the early morning;
during the middle of the day it gener-
ally remains in it's burrow. though l
have seen them abroad at noon, espec-
ially in the autumn.
The woodchuck can climb trees in a
clumsy fashion, and occasionally mounts
to a low branch, and there stretches it
self out to enjoy the warm sunshine, of
which it is very fond. They also some
times lean with Their backs against a
tree trunk, sitting on their hind quar-
tiers with their under surface exposed
to the hot rays. This species stores up
no supply of food for the winter, and
during the latter season retires to the
Utmost chamber of its burrow, and be-
comes perfectly torpid. If dug out at
this time, they are found apparently in
animate, coiled into sort of ball, with
the chin pressed against the abdomen.
In Nav or June the female br ngs
forth from four to six young. At the
end of three weeks, or rather longer,
they may be observed playing around
the entrance to the burrow, to which
they at once retreat at the approach of
danger At the age of few N onths
the young leave their parents and dig
for themselves habitatons in the i'm
mediate neighborhood of their paternal
burrow. The woodchuck cannot be
said to live in communities, although
at times few inhabited tunnels
may be found together. When a
number of tunnels are discovered close
to one another, it will generally be
found that the majority have been dug