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Outdoors Journal: Woodchucks
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Much of a woodchuck's life is spent in hibernation, when its heartbeat slows from about 80 beats per minute to only four or five and body temperature drops more than 60 degrees to about 38 degrees. They hibernate five to six months each year.
The pudgy woodchuck, or groundhog, does not appear above ground on its official day, Feb. 2. Its internal clock awakens it usually in early to mid-March. Then we begin looking for the first one. This year one was spotted on Feb. 16 in Minnetonka, a very early sighting.
The woodchuck is the largest member of the squirrel family, and it weighs 10 pounds or more as an adult and measures 11/2 feet long. It feeds on green vegetation and other plant materials, consuming as much as a pound of food a day. Insects, mice and birds are eaten occasionally.
To the dismay of gardeners and farmers, clover, alfalfa, peas, beans, corn, melons and apples are some of the groundhog's favorite foods. However, groundhogs benefit the wildlife community by constructing burrows that serve as homes for animals that are important in controlling insect and small rodent populations. The burrows also permit rain water to easily enter the ground.
JIM GILBERT
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