Happy Groundhog Day!

You know that tongue twister –

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Groundhogs are also known as Woodchucks.  The groundhog is a member of a group of large ground squirrels called marmots, but they’re also called land beavers and woodchucks. Surprisingly, the name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood, It’s believed to be taken from the Algonquian name for the same animal: wuchak.

The groundhog is a vegetarian with a diet consisting mainly of grass, herbs, and plants like dandelions, daisies, and goldenrods. They also have an eye for human crops, like carrots and corn, which puts them on farmers’ list of Most Wanted. And yes, they do occasionally eat tree bark, as we all hoped woodchucks would.

Groundhogs are a uniquely North American native so our special Groundhog holiday is very American.  Most groundhogs live in eastern and central United States, although you can find them in Canada and even Alaska. They tend to settle down on the edge of a forest or woodland near an open field, where they’ll likely construct their underground burrows. 

They are big burrowers and make dens underground sometimes along building foundations. These are pretty impressive homes. Their underground burrows include multiple “rooms” with different purposes, including a sleeping chamber, a nursery chamber, and a waste chamber (what we would call a bathroom). The entire burrow can stretch anywhere from eight to 66 feet long.

So how did they become the symbol of coming Spring?  It is because they are true hibernators.  They hibernate from late fall to late winter or early spring, which can add up to as many as six months of deep sleep, depending on their climate. During this time, their body temperatures can drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and their heart rates slow from 80 beats per minute to just five. So when they wake up it really is Spring!