What is a Groundhog?

April King, aka Marumari

A groundhog is a fairly large rodent in the family Sciuridae with other marmots.  Also known as a woodchuck or land beaver, the woodchuck is found throughout most of the northern half of North America and are most common in the midwest and eastern part of the United States.  Most grow to about 18 to 25 in long and weigh about 5 to 10 lb.  However, there are reports of groundhog's growing to be over 30lbs!  Groundhogs can live around 5 years but in the right situation like Wiarton Willie, an albino groundhog and mascot of the town of Wiarton, Ontario, they can live over 20 years. Read more about Wiarton Willie here. 



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 Groundhogs are also mostly herbivores but will eat insects and grubs. They eat heavily in the fall as they are true hibernators. They build winter burrows and typically stay in complete hibernation from as long as October to April.  Like most hibernating animals, they use fat reserve to survive the long winter.

They typically live in open land areas or near the edge of forests.  Although they are hunted by humans, their population in most areas is stable if not flourishing.  This is attributed to their quick ability to reproduce and have large litter sizes.