7 Interesting Facts About Groundhogs!
Groundhogs, often known as woodchucks are from the Rodent family. But they are not the mere animals you think they are! There is a celebration named after them, isn’t that interesting?
Well, there are tons of fun facts about groundhogs. From their burrow building to the eating habits, hibernation to surprising skills, some things will amaze you for sure!
Interesting and Fun Facts About Groundhogs
Have you ever seen a groundhog? What do groundhogs do all day in your yard? Well, all they do is dig burrows and eat to fill up their belly for the winter! But what other attributes do they possess? Let’s study!
1. Hibernators
However, they go through a lot while hibernating. The body weight decreases and so does the temperature of their body. It reduces to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. At times, in a minute, their heart only beat five times to ten times only!
But if you check out some southernmost groundhogs, you will see that they are hibernating for a year or close! Isn’t that fascinating to see how these small cuties can hibernate this long?
2. Innovative Builders
Well, they are not less than any professional builders! If you check out their burrow, you will know that these can be more than 50 ft. at times. And the most interesting fact is they create multiple rooms and levels! They work just like a human.
Just the way humans build their houses in such an innovative manner, they do the same. Do you know that they have separate bathrooms? You heard right, my friend! Check out are groundhogs smart to know about them more!
One woodchuck is capable of moving 700 pounds of dirt so that it can make a perfect burrow! And they work on preventing heat loss too!
3. Woodchuck, not Wood Chuck
Groundhogs are often called woodchucks which started in native America. Along with this, Whistle Pig and Land Beavers are their common name. But do woodchucks really chuck wood or it’s just a name?
Your idea of absolutely wrong; they don’t chuck wood at all! They are fed on veggies, tree bark, etc. But wood, not! And they hate some specific smells too. Check out and learn about what smells do groundhogs hate?
It was called WEJACK, WOODSHAW, or WOOCHUCK back in the days but Native Americans changed it into English. So, if you ever ask how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Well, they just can’t!
4. Lone-Wolf
You can call them lone wolf or loner if you want! They stay alone almost throughout the year. The female doesn’t know where the male groundhog is and the same goes for the male too. Just when they are prepared for mating, they search for their partners.
When a baby woodchuck is born, it is not taken care of for long. The mother takes care of and nurses the baby for a short period and then they let the babies go their ways so that they can learn about life and survive.
If you are thinking about the term asocial, yes, that’s what they are! What else can an animal that eats the whole day and digs whole can do? Ha-ha, they eat one-third of their weight in vegetation!
5. Groundhog vs. Woodchuck
One of the very important things about the groundhog that you don’t know is they are no different than a woodchuck. Yes, they both are the same thing! They are from a rodent family. On the other hand, they are close to squirrels.
Squirrels are also close to marmots. If you are making a list of differences between woodchuck and groundhog, they are none! However, squirrels prefer to live in the woods or trees, woodchucks settle for underground.
The worst part is they at times create burrows under your building too! Learn about how to catch a groundhog with a milk jug to get rid of them!
6. Sports Skills
What are groundhogs surprising skills that we never talk about? You will be amazed to learn that groundhogs can climb trees! Yes, it’s hard to believe. But as we told you before, they are close to the squirrel family.
As squirrels can climb trees, so can groundhogs. They create their burrows in a manner that no one can harm them. The burrows are more than the single holes.
But if they go through situations when they have no other way to safeguard them, they start climbing trees. And, in case the situation goes worse, they can swim too! Mammals swimming, isn’t that funny?
7. Recognition
In this world of tons of animal species, groundhogs are familiar because of a common belief- their weather-predicting ability.
Though this is not yet proven that they can predict the weather, locals of several areas believe that groundhogs can predict the weather. And to give it a go, February 2nd is celebrated as Groundhog Day for thousands of years!
Wrap Up
The more you learn about groundhogs, the more you will be amazed. These are not just small animals; they have secrets and fun facts! We have only discussed some of the common interesting facts about woodchuck but there are hundreds of facts like this. If you want to know, stay tuned!
