### animal | vertebrate | mammal | rodent | marmot:

Woodchuck
* Many woodchucks are killed on roads by automobiles.
* Most woodchucks eat bark
  - emerge from burrows
  - enter burrows
* Most woodchucks have body mass
  - bushy tails
  - incisor teeth
  - senses
  - toes
  - love vegetables
* Most woodchucks produce loud sound
  - whistle sound
* Some woodchucks belong to families
  - cause death
  - develop antibodies
  - dig holes
* Some woodchucks eat food pellets
  - have predators
* Some woodchucks infect with viruses
  - woodchuck hepatitis viruses
  - inhabit fields
* adapt well to many habitats, as seasons and conditions change.
* are a common farm and garden pest
  - pest, but only because of the dens that they burrow in pastures and other fields
  - active during the day
* are also blind when they are born
  - very destructive
* are among the few mammals that enter into true hibernation
  - true hibernators found in Massachusetts
  - busy foraging on plant material and storing up fat for hibernation
  - common and abundant in Massachusetts
* are common throughout Connecticut
  - the state
  - cute, furry creatures
* are diurnal and feed on grasses and forbs
  - so they hunt for their food in the daylight hours
  - drawn to properties that have easy access to food and water sources
  - fairly large animals and are related to the squirrel family
  - found in western and eastern portions of North America
  - good climbers and sometimes are seen in lower tree branches
  - groundhogs, which are no hogs
  - herbivorous feeding on the new foliage of plants
  - ideal laboratory animals in which to study liver cancer and hepatitis
  - in no danger of becoming extinct, even with the threat of deforestation
  - known for building extensive underground burrow systems
* are most active during early morning and late afternoon when they are feeding
  - one of the few mammals that enter into true hibernation
  - particularly fond of legumes, including alfalfa and vetch, clover, peas, and beans
* are primarily active during daylight hours
  - rodents, and they are very prolific
  - skilled at climbing and digging
  - solitary and are most active in early morning and late afternoon
  - specially adapted to dig - they have short powerful legs and strong claws
* are stocky little animals with a flattened head
  - mammals, with short, strong legs and a short, bushy, almost flattened tail
  - terrestrial and fossorial, creating burrows with elaborate passageways
* are the best-known hibernators among mammals
  - largest squirrels in Illinois
* are true hibernators and spend nearly half of the days of a year in a hibernative state
  - hibernators, relying soley on body fat for winter survival
  - usually highly agonistic
  - vegetarians
  - very sanitary at their den sites
  - voracious feeders
* breed at one year of age.
* can also undermine pools
  - be wary of entering traps
  - cause a lot of costly damage to lawns, gardens, fences, and foundations
  - create a wide variety of vocal noises
  - dig up to three entrances to one den
  - literally mow a garden
  - produce several sounds
* cause damage.
* climb trees
  - well, ascending and descending trees head first
* defecate in toilet chambers they dig underground.
* do aerate the soil.
* do, however, have the continuously growing incisors characteristic of rodents.
* feed primarily on grasses, clover, alfalfa, wheat, corn, soybeans, and berries
  - vegetables, trees, grasses and legumes
* forage and eat at almost any time of the day.
* generally feed in field borders or gardens close to their dens.
* grow rapidly.
* have a dense gray undercoat with a long, light brown coat of guard hairs on top
  - chisel-like incisor teeth
  - excellent eyesight and are able to climb trees in order to escape an enemy
  - one litter per year
  - short powerful legs and short ears
  - small ears and large black eyes
  - the ability to bite and scratch if they are cornered or threatened
* hibernate during the winter.
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - piluses
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* inhabit burrows.
* leave signs of their activity.
* like to navigate through fairly high vegetation.
* live in burrows they dig into the ground
  - which they dig in dry, well-drained soils
  - open grasslands, pastures, and woodlands
  - primarily underground in burrows dug on land with a slight slope
* look very similar to a beaver except without a tail.
* love fresh vegetables
  - vegetable gardens
* maintain sanitary den sites and burrow systems, replacing nest materials frequently.
* mark territory.
* often cause only minor damage to properties
  - problems in agricultural and sub- urban areas
  - dig many side tunnels and two or three back entrances
  - live on forest edges near expansive pasture
  - sit on their haunches and pull plants over with their forepaws
* pose problems
  - serious problems
* prefer a mixture of open farmland, woods, fencerows, and roadsides
* prefer open areas and forest edges for their habitat, and dig extensive burrows
  - to feed in the early morning and evening hours
* produce about four young and virtually all females breed annually.
* seem to prefer to construct burrows on or near farm land where crops grow.
* use burrows for mating, hiding from predators, and hibernation
  - strategies