Facts about Groundhogs

Groundhogs are usually large ground squirrels that are referred to as Marmots. They are same as the woodchucks and are most of the times related to squirrels and woodchucks or groundhogs can climb trees and also swim. These are terrestrial animals or rodents and live in burrows in the winter season. They live in rocky and mountain areas for the rest of the time. The body clock of the ground hogs is believed to be adjusted with the yearly changes in the amount of sunlight. It is said that their body undergoes hormonal changes, specifically melatonin, which is a sleep, related hormone and the secretion of this hormone also works behind waking up the hibernating animal. The whole life cycle of the animal is very interesting and the following are the facts about groundhogs.

Facts about Groundhogs

• Groundhogs are also called whistle pigs.
• They have four toes on the front foot and five on the back foot. They can grow to a maximum of two feet when measured from head to toe and weigh somewhere around five to fourteen pounds.
• Groundhogs have grayish brown fur and tails that are bushy. They generally have two layers of fur so that the outside layer can serve as waterproofing layer and the inside layer can maintain the body heat.
• They dig their burrows with the help of their powerful limbs and thick claws. They are quite adept at it. They can remove up to seven hundred pounds of soil to make a twenty to twenty five foot long burrow.
• The burrows that Groundhogs make have many chambers and also have more than one entrance, at times even three entrances.
• They make a loud whistling sound as an alarm bell to make everybody aware that there is danger around.
• These groundhogs are herbivorous and they eat plants like grass, clover and alfalfa. They also eat strawberries, peas, pansies and garden beans.
• Groundhogs have several enemies who are predators like foxes, bobcats and human beings.
• When it is close to autumn the groundhogs start gaining weight and become fatter.
• During hibernation the body temperature of the groundhogs decreases from ninety-nine degree Fahrenheit to forty degree Fahrenheit. Their heartbeat also decreases from eighty beats per minute to five per minute. The breathing is also reduced from twelve to approximately four per minute. They hibernate to save themselves from the cold weather and when they hibernate their whole body metabolism slows down and the body gets cold so that it consumes less energy since it uses the stored body fat.
• Groundhogs have amazing sense of hearing very sharp eyesight.
• The breeding season of the ground hogs last from somewhere around March to mid or late April which is sometime immediately after hibernation finishes. Some people are of the opinion that they end the hibernation period just because the mating season starts. The gestation period is of about 28 to 32 days and the male groundhog leaves the day as the time for birth of young ones approaches.
• The span of life for these rodents is two to three years approximately but they can survive up to six years in the forests and up to ten years in captivity.

So these are facts about groundhogs which I hope are informative.