How Much Do You Really Know About Groundhogs?

           On this day every year, we celebrate Groundhog Day. It’s the only holiday named for a rodent, yet we know very little about this happy little guy. So, in the interest of filling in the gaps in your sophistication, I shall share 10 facts about this nationally beloved creature:

 Groundhogs, also called woodchucks, are large rodents. At 13 pounds they’re the largest members of the squirrel family.

2.   I know, you’re wondering if they really chuck wood. A scientist once estimated they can dig up 700 lbs. of wood, but they don’t eat it. They’re herbivores, but not idiots.

3.    Another name for this animal is whistle-pig. Somehow Whistle-Pig Day just doesn't have the same ring as Groundhog Day. 

4.    Their burrows, which can be 6 feet deep, can have as many as a dozen entrances. That’s a lot of welcome mats!

They eat about a pound of food in each meal, love to stuff themselves, and nap in the sun. I know many people who would gladly become groundhogs, just for the lifestyle.

Like bears, they hibernate during the winter.

In February males looks for females’ burrows, but have no elaborate mating ritual to win over a bride. They just barge in wearing a tank top, flop down on the sofa, and let the women know how it’s going to be. Okay, I made up the part about the tank top and the sofa.

     Groundhog babies are born blind and hairless, but mature in just three months and leave their moms to dig their own places. Not sure if any have dug basements in their moms’ houses, or installed wifi there.

     Weather prediction has been surprisingly, uh, wrong. You’d think the odds would be 50-50, but they’re only right about a third of the time. So, playing poker with a groundhog could be a good idea.

     They live in North America and you’ll be glad to know they are listed as “least concern for extinction.” I didn’t even know there was such a list, but I’ll bet mosquitoes are on it, too.   

      It's the dead of winter, let's face it. So curl up with one of my books, whether ol' Phil sees his shadow or not.