01/02/2021
As weather watchers anticipate Phil seeing his shadow (or not) tomorrow, and while the world awaits his verdict, here are some fascinating facts about this incredible creature:
🌼🌷Happy Groundhog Day!🌼🌷
The groundhog is much more than a "weather rodent". This species is a real animal with a real life.
Did you know ...?
🔹The Groundhog (Marmota monax) is one of 14 species of marmots. This species goes by many names, including woodchucks, whistle-pigs, and land-beavers, due to the sound they make through their large teeth to warn each other of danger. They're also called mouse bears because they look like a miniature bear when sitting upright. The word woodchuck comes from a Native American word, wuchak, which roughly translates as "digger."
🔹Groundhogs, like most pets and people, are diurnal. This means they are active during the day and retreat to a burrow for a good night’s sleep. But this species takes sleep more seriously than we do: These herbivores are true hibernators; they bulk up in the fall and sleep from October to March.
🔹This species live a feast-or-famine lifestyle, gorging all summer to build up plentiful reserves of fat. After the first frost, they retreat to their underground burrows and snooze until spring, drawing their sustenance from body fat.
🔹While hibernating, the heart rate plunges, and body temperature is not much warmer than the temperature inside its burrow. body temp drops from 99° F to 40° F, and their heartbeat slows from 80 beats per minute to 5. Breathing slows from around 16 breaths per minute to as few as 2.
💚The History of Groundhog Day: Feb 2, the date of celebration, coincides with the medieval feast of Candlemas, and its predecessor, Imbolc. An old Scottish prophecy foretells that sunny weather on Candlemas means a long winter.
🔹The tradition of relying on rodents as forecasters dates back to the early days of Europe, when clear skies on Candlemas Day (Feb. 2) were said to herald cold weather ahead. In Germany, the tradition morphed into a myth that if the sun came out on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast its shadow, predicting snow all the way into May. When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they transferred the tradition onto local fauna, replacing hedgehogs with groundhogs.
💗Fun Facts:
▪Groundhogs are the largest species in the squirrel family.
▪Groundhogs are skilled climbers and swimmers
▪Groundhogs have excellent eyesight.
▪Groundhog burrows are so complex that each has its own "bathroom" chamber.
▪ a famous groundhog burrow uncovered a historic village in central Ohio - now a famous archaeological site.
▪How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? About 700 lbs., according to Cornell University.
🤎Geography: Central & eastern U.S., Alaska and Canada.
🤎Habitat: Known as an "edge" species, groundhogs prefer transitional areas where forest or woodland meets a well-vegetated open field or meadow. Groundhogs spend most of their time underground in complex burrow systems, which they dig in dry, well-drained soil. Groundhogs usually dig burrows in areas with nearby cover (hedgerows, beside structures, home foundations or trees).
🤎Avg Size: 20" long with 6-7" tail; 6-12 lbs.
🤎Average Lifespan in the Wild: 3-6 years
🤎Identifying Features: brown fur; round body with a small bushy tail; short, strong legs with curved claws for burrowing; small, round eyes and ears located on the top of a flat heat; two long, ever-growing incisors.
🤎Behavior & Repro: Mating season begins early spring, after emerging from hibernation. Mothers give birth to 2-4 kits, and the baby woodchucks remain with the mother for 2 months before becoming independent. Once mom has given birth, the role of the male changes. In addition to visits to his mate, he makes rounds to other burrows, which are used for training the babies after they emerge from the natal burrow. Dad also assists in burrow maintenance.
Although groundhogs may not be the best weather predictors, they do emerge from dens in early February. This behavior is the practice of males as they rouse themselves to wander around their 2 to 3 acre territories in search of burrows belonging to females, which the males will enter and where they may spend the night. Research suggests that no mating takes place at this time; the visits probably just let the animals get to know one another so that they can get right down to the business of breeding when they emerge for good in March. Outside of the mating season, woodchucks are solitary, except for females with young, which usually are born in early April.
🤎Diet: Mainly vegetarian/herbivore, they feed on a variety of grasses. They eat blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and other fruits, along with the bark of hickory and maple trees. Groundhogs will occasionally snack on grubs or other small insects, but they mostly rely on grasses, fruits, and nuts to give them a rich fat reserve, which lasts through the coldest months of winter.
🤎Like guinea pigs, groundhogs have large front incisors they must wear down by chewing to curb tooth growth. To the dismay of gardeners, woodchucks love fresh vegetables and flowers. Many find groundhogs digging in the lawn a nuisance. Fortunately, there are several non-lethal ways to deter this species. If you find groundhogs on your property, be kind. They’re probably there simply to eat, burrow, and reproduce or hibernate for the winter — not to bother you and your pets.
Check out the links below to learn more!
➡Woodchucks & Humane Solutions: https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/woodchucks-groundhogs/situations-solutions
➡10 Things You May Not Know About Groundhogs: https://blog.nwf.org/2011/01/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-groundhogs/
➡Groundhog Behavior: http://www.woodchuckwonderland.com/about-that-behavior/
🤎Additional Associations and Energies Associated with the Groundhog:
Change
Community
Connection
Consciousness
Cycles
Dreams
Family
Grounding
Hibernation
Hiding
Mystery
Rebirth
➡https://www.spirit-animals.com/groundhog-symbolism/
🌼Discover more at our website: http://www.consciouscompanion.com/
