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Groundhogs ( Marmota monax ) , also call Marmota monax , are large gnawer . They are also one of the 14 species of marmot , or ground squirrels . In fact , they are the largest members of the squirrel family . Most people probably know the groundhog as a weather forecaster because of Groundhog Day . However , those prognostication are typically not very good .
Groundhog size
From headway to rump , woodchuck are 17.75 to 24 inches ( 45 to 61 centimeters ) long , according toNational Geographic . They press around 13 pounds ( 6 kilogram ) , which is about twice the average weighting of a newborn human child . Like other squirrel , groundhog have long tails that grow around 7 to 9.75 in ( 18 to 25 cm ) long .
These orotund creatures look like piddling bear when they tolerate up on their hind legs . Groundhogs also have sharp claws that they utilise to dig telling burrows in the earth . During the warm months , a groundhog ’s incisors continue to grow each workweek to keep up with their frenzied feeding schedule , concord to the National Wildlife Federation . If they are n’t fall apart down enough by jaw that can be fatal to the overgrown squirrels , according to theNWF .
Groundhog habitat
woodchuck are found only in North America , from Canada down to the southerly United States , according toAnimalDiversity.org . They like woodland expanse that encounter up against more open areas . They dig out burrows that can be 6 feet ( 1.8 meters ) deep , and 20 feet ( 6 m ) wide . These surreptitious homes can also have two to a dozen entrance , according to theNational Wildlife Federation . Typically , they have a tunnel in the woods for the winter and a burrow in grassy areas for the warm month . Groundhogs keep their burrows tidy by changing out the nesting found inside from time to time .
Groundhog habits
Groundhogs are solitary creatures , and they spend their summer and flow scarf out themselves and taking naps in the sun .
In the winter , they hibernate . While hibernate , the Marmota monax ’s heartbeat slow down from 80 beats per mo to 5 pulsation per min ; their ventilation reduces from 16 breathing time per bit to as few as 2 breaths per minute ; and their body temperature drops from about 99 degrees Fahrenheit ( 37.2 degree Anders Celsius ) to as low as 37 F ( 2.77 C ) , according to the National Wildlife Federation .
A groundhog typically sticks nigh to home . They usually do n’t drift further than 50 to 150 feet ( 15 to 30 meter ) from their den during the daytime , according to theInternet Center for Wildlife Damage Management .
Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-predicting groundhog.
Groundhog diet
These rodents are herbivore , which means they eat botany . A groundhog ’s dieting can include yield , flora , tree bark and grasses . They are known for damaging crops and gardens and many consider them pest .
Groundhogs do n’t exhaust during hibernation . They employ fat that they build up over the summertime and wintertime month .
Groundhog offspring
In February , male will come out of hibernation and lookup for female ' tunnel . When he finds one , he heads on in . It is believe that Male do this to introduce themselves to possible match . In the spring , mating season progresses and the females give birth to two to six new after a gestation period of around 32 days .
The babies are unreasoning and hairless , but quickly become fledged in just three months or so . When they are mature , they typically exit their female parent to dig their own base . Groundhogs in the furious subsist around three to six years , according toPBS.org .
Groundhog classification/taxonomy
Here is the categorization for groundhogs , according to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information System(ITIS ):
land : Animalia
Subkingdom : Bilateria
Groundhog Club co-handler John Griffiths raises the groundhog Punsxutawney Phil from his burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, 2017.
Infrakingdom : Deuterostomia
Phylum : Chordata
Subphylum : subphylum Craniata
Infraphylum : Gnathostomata
Superclass : Tetrapoda
course of study : Mammalia
Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Eutheria
Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Sciuromorpha
mob : Sciuridae
Subfamily : Xerinae
Tribe : Marmotini
Genus : Marmota
Subgenus : Marmota
coinage : Marmota monax
Subspecies :
Groundhog conservation status
Groundhogs are listed asleast concern for extinctionon the International Union for Conservation of Nature ’s Red List of Threatened Species . They are widespread from central Alaska , across Canada and south through the United States to Georgia , Alabama , Louisiana and Arkansas .
Groundhog shadow facts
According to custom , if the groundhog figure its shadow on Feb. 2 , there will be six more week of winter . This idea gave rise to Groundhog Day . The tradition of relying on rodents as forecasters may see back to the early Clarence Day of Christianity in Europe , when clear sky on Candlemas Day ( Feb. 2 ) were said to herald cold weather forwards , according to theOld Farmer ’s Almanac . In Germany , the tradition morphed into a myth that if the sun add up out on Candlemas , a porcupine would swan its shadow , predicting snow all the way into May . When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania , they transferred the custom onto local fauna , replacing hedgehog with Marmota monax .
But how accurate is this method acting of weather condition prediction ? The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club , of Punxsutawney , Pennsylvania , has records from more than 100 yr . On Groundhog Day , the club holds a " sincere " observance as a groundhog , named Phil , is pulled from a " tunnel " in front of telly cameras and cheering crowds . The club say Phil has predicted 99 forecasts of more wintertime and 15 early springs . concord to data point from the Stormfax Almanac , Phil ’s predictions have beencorrect only 39 % of the timein his hometown of Punxsutawney .
How much wood?
How much wood would a woodchuck grub , if a woodchuck could chuck wood?About 700 pounds ( 317 kilo ) , accord to Cornell University .
Actually , the name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood , or honk it , according toAnimal Diversity WWW . The Holy Scripture woodchuck come in from a aboriginal American word , wuchak , which around translate as " digger . " ( Another name for this animal is whistle - pig bed , agree to theNational Museum of Natural History . )
Nevertheless , according to Cornell , a wildlife life scientist sought to suffice the tongue - cruller ’s question . He evaluate the intensity a woodchuck burrow and estimate that if the hole were filled with Sir Henry Joseph Wood rather than soil , the woodchuck would have chucked about 700 pounds ( Woodchucks , however , typically do not chew Sir Henry Joseph Wood . )
Additional resources
