Wildlife Wednesday 01/28/2026

Happy #WildlifeWednesday!

It’s almost the big day for everyone’s favorite prognosticating rodent, so let’s celebrate with some groundhog info!

The groundhog,  Marmota monax , is also known as a woodchuck and a whistlepig. 

They are members of the squirrel family, belonging to the group of large-bodied ground squirrels called marmots.

Groundhogs prefer open country habitat and woodland edges, and they rarely venture too far from an entrance to their underground burrows. Their burrows are elaborate, with chambers for resting, rearing young, hiding from predators, sheltering from bad weather, and hibernating. There is also a separate area used as a restroom.

Despite their thick stocky build, groundhogs are excellent swimmers and tree climbers..

Groundhogs are among the true hibernators, and retreat underground below the frost line during the winter, slowing their heart rate to ten beats per minute and taking only one breath every six minutes.

When alarmed or threatened, they let out a loud high-pitched whistle to warn others in the colony, which gives them the “whistle pig” nickname.

A popular tongue twister asks the question “how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” In a publication by a wildlife biologist who calculated the volume of dirt excavated in an average groundhog burrow, the answer was determined to be 700 pounds if that volume correlated to wood.

Groundhogs are primarily herbivorous, and their diet includes wild grasses, lettuces, fruits, berries, bark, flowers, and other vegetation. They may also snack on non-plant foods from time to time, such as insects, snails, and bird eggs. They can sometimes be found consuming garden foods and agricultural crops as well.

Groundhog Day is celebrated every year on February 02. It comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if the groundhog emerges from its den and sees its shadow, it will be frightened and return underground and there will be six more weeks of winter. Alternatively, if the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, that is an indication of an early spring. Studies have shown that there is actually no correlation between groundhogs seeing shadows and the arrival of spring weather, but it’s still a very popular holiday and a fun bit of folklore!