Groundhogs hibernate from late fall for roughly three months, then wake up when it's still quite cold. But it turns out they have a very good reason to drag themselves out of bed. There's evidence that male groundhogs wake up early to get a head start on reproduction.
Groundhogs have to know just when to emerge from hibernation to mate so that their offspring will have the best chance of survival. In other words, the window of opportunity is very small and the wily woodchuck has to get it just right. All rights reserved. They're related to squirrels. What's more, groundhogs have an extensive range and can be found all over North America. So how much wood could a woodchuck chuck? None, apparently. They build impressive homes. This story has been updated.
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As herbivores, they primarily feed on crops, grass and other types of plants. Woodlands areas can provide shelter and cover for avoiding predators. During winter months, groundhogs live underground in burrows that they create by digging. Besides being a place for hibernation, burrows are also where mating takes place and where offspring are born.
One reason groundhogs do not venture very far from the burrow is that staying close allows them to avoid predators by quickly returning to safety.
Even in the summer and fall, groundhogs prefer to remain hidden when not foraging for food. The main entrance is seen as a mound of fresh earth around the opening. Groundhogs are active by day, especially in early morning and late afternoon. In residential areas they may be found beneath homes, patios, under decks, garages and stored lumber.
Groundhogs construct burrows and eat a broad range of vegetation. One or two groundhogs are capable of eating into your garden almost overnight. Groundhogs weigh between pounds,and are stocky, giving the appearance of crouching close to the ground as it moves around. The body fur is long, grizzled grayish-brown in color and coarse. In late summer or early fall, groundhogs put on a heavy layer of fat, which sustains it through hibernation. Groundhogs don't eat during hibernation.
They use fat that they built up over the summer and winter month. In February, males will come out of hibernation and search for females' burrows. When he finds one, he heads on in. It is believed that males do this to introduce themselves to possible mates. In the spring, mating season progresses and the females give birth to two to six young after a gestation period of around 32 days.
The babies are blind and hairless, but quickly become mature in just three months or so. When they are mature, they typically leave their mother to dig their own homes. Groundhogs live around three to six years. According to tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter.
This idea gave rise to Groundhog Day. The tradition of relying on rodents as forecasters may date back to the early days of Christianity in Europe, when clear skies on Candlemas Day Feb. 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.
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