The groundhog ( Marmota monax ), also known as woodchuck , is a rodent from the Sciuridae family, belonging to a large ground squirrel group known as a guinea pig. It was first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Landhog is also referred to as chuck , wood-shock , groundpig , whistlepig , whistler , plywood , marmot Canada , monax , moonack , weenusk , red monk and, among Canadian French in eastern Canada, siffleur. The name "badger badwood" is given in Northwest to distinguish animals from prairie pastures. Monax is the Native American name of woodchuck, which means "digger". Younger landhogs can be called chucklings. Other marmots, such as yellow-stomach and hoarse, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the groundhog is a lowland creature. It is found through most of the eastern United States of Canada and into Alaska
Video Groundhog
Description
Landhog is the largest sciurid in its geographic range. Adults have a length of 16 to 20 inches, including a six-inch tail. A large woodchuck estimated to weigh twenty pounds when carried is exactly half that weight when weighed by the scale. Woodchuck weight ranges from five to twelve pounds. Very large individuals can weigh up to 15 pounds. Seasonal weight changes show deposition and fat use in the circumference. Higher and progressive weights are achieved annually for the first 2-3 years after heavy weight. Groundhogs have four incisors that grow 1/16 "per week, constant use of them every week, unlike other rodent incisors, groundhog incisors white to ivory, Groundhogs also well adapted for digging. with short, firm and curved limbs, thick claws Unlike other sciurids, the backbone of the groundhog is curved, more like that of a mole, and its tail is also relatively short - only about a quarter of its body length, its temperate habitats, groundhogs covered with two layers of feathers: a thick gray bottom layer and a longer guard coat layer that gives a typical "blur" groundhog appearance.
Maps Groundhog
Etymology
The etymology of the woodchuck name is not related to wood or discard. It comes from the name Algonquian (probably Narragansett) for the animal, wuchak . The similarity between words has caused popular tongues:
- How much wood will chuck woodchuck
- if woodchuck can throw wood?
- A woodchuck will throw away all the wood he can
- if woodchuck can throw wood!
Distribution and habitat
The Groundhog prefers open country and forest edge, and is rarely far from the entrance of the burrow. Monax Marmota has a wide geographical range. These are commonly found in forests with low elevation, small woodlots, fields, pastures and hedges. It builds nests in well-drained soil, and most have summer and winter nests. Human activity has increased access to food and abundance that allows M. monax to flourish. As a result, groundhogs are animals that are familiar to many people in the United States and Canada.
Survive
In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years with two or three averages. In captivity, groundhogs are reported to live up to 14 years. Humans, dogs, coyotes, and foxes are the only predators that can kill adult pigs although young can also be taken by owls and eagles. The red fox is the main predator of the Marmota monax. Sometimes woodchucks can suffer from parasitism and woodchuck can die from infestation or from vector-borne bacteria. In intensive agricultural areas and wheat milling areas in the state of Wisconsin, especially the southern part, woodchuck in the 1950s was almost extinct. Jackson (1961) suggests the amount of damage done by woodchuck has been exaggerated and that excessive public persecution reduces in Wisconsin. In some areas, guinea pigs are important game animals and are killed regularly for sports, food, or feathers. In Kentucky an estimated 267,500 M. monax is taken annually from 1964 to 1971 (Barbour and Davis 1974) Woodchucks has protected its status in the state of Wisconsin until 2017. The amount of Woodchuck seems to have declined in Illinois.
Behavior
The time spent observing groundhogs by field biologists represents only a fraction of the time devoted to field research. W.J. Schoonmaker reports that groundhogs can hide when they see, smell or hear observers. Ken Armitage, a marmot researcher, states that the social biology of the groundhog is well understood. Despite their large-bodied appearance, the groundhogs are swimmers and occasionally climb trees while fleeing predators or when they want to observe their surroundings. They prefer to retreat to their burrow when threatened; if the burrow is invaded, the groundhog defensively defends itself with two large incisors and front paws. Groundhogs are generally agonistic and territorial among their own species, and may be fighting to build dominance. Outside their burrows, individuals are alert when not eating. It is common to see one or more individuals who barely move upright on their hind legs to observe the danger. When worried, they use high-pitched whistles to alert the entire colony, hence the name "whistle-pig". Groundhogs may scream when fighting, badly injured, or caught by predators. Other sounds that may be generated by groundhogs are the low barks and sounds generated by grinding their teeth. When the groundhogs are afraid, the tail feathers stand upright, giving the tail the appearance of a hairbrush. David P. Barash writes he has only witnessed two chances of fighting between woodchucks and that upright postures play involves ongoing physical contact between individuals and may require almost unknown levels of social tolerance in M. monax >. He says it is possible to conclude, alternatively, that upright battles play are part of the treasury of woodchuck behavior but rarely displayed because of low physical and/or social tolerance.
Diet
Most herbivores, groundhogs feed on weeds and other plants, including berries and agricultural crops, if available. In early spring, dandelions and coltsfoot are important food items for groundhogs. Some additives include: lamb sorrel, timothy, buttercup, tear tears, agrimony, red and black raspberries, buckwheat, plantain, wild lettuce, all varieties of clover, and alfalfa. Groundhogs also occasionally eat maggots, grasshoppers, insects, slugs and other small animals, but not as omnivorous as other Sciuridae. Like squirrels, they have also been observed sitting eating nuts like a hickory shagbark, but unlike the squirrels, do not bury them for future use.
Groundhogs will occasionally eat snails, insects and baby birds they encounter accidentally. Adult landhogs will eat more than a pound of vegetation every day. In early June, woodchucks metabolism slows, food intake decreases, their weight increases by 100% and fat deposits are produced where they will live during hibernation and late winter. Instead of storing food, groundhogs own things to survive in the winter without eating. Thinking of not drinking water, the groundhog reportedly obtained the needed fluid from the juice of the food crop, helped by sprinkling them with rain or moisture.
Burrows
Groundhogs are excellent diggers, using burrows for sleeping, raising children, and hibernating. W. J. Schoonmaker dug 11 nests to find the earth removed from an average of six cubic feet or four and eight tenths of a bushel per nest. The longest hallway is 24 feet plus 2 short side galleries. The amount of soil taken from this nest is eight bushels and weighs 640 lbs. The average weight of the earth taken from the eleventh hive is 384 pounds. Although groundhogs are the most solitary of marmots, some individuals can occupy the same burrow. Groundhog burrows typically have two to five entrances, providing groundhogs as their primary means of escaping predators. Burrows are very large, with up to 14 meters (46Ã, ft) tunnels buried up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) underground, and can pose a serious threat to agricultural and housing development by damaging agricultural machinery and even undermining the foundation of the building. On June 7, 2009 the Humane Society of the United States article, "How to Eradicate Woodchuck from Your Page", John Griffin, director of Humane Wildlife Services, states that you need to have lots of woodchucks working more years to create a tunnel system that will pose a risk to structure.
Liang is used for safety, retreat in bad weather, hibernate, sleep, love nest, and nursery. Besides the nest, there is a dirt room. The nest room may be about twenty inches to three feet below the ground. About sixteen inches wide and fourteen inches tall. There are usually two holes or burrows. One of them is the main entrance, the other is a spy hole. The long description of the burrow often includes a gallery on the side of the burrow. Excluding side galleries, Schoonmaker's longest report is twenty-four feet, with an average length of eleven nests excavated into fourteen feet. W. H. Fisher investigated nine burrows, finding the deepest point up to forty-nine inches down. The longest, including the side gallery, is forty-seven feet eleven and one and a half inches. The number of holes per individual groundhog decreases with urbanization.
Bachman mentions that when the young ground child is a few months old, they prepare to separate, digging a number of holes in their original home area. Some of these holes are only a few meters away and are never occupied but many holes give the impression that the groundhog lives in the community.
Hibernate
Groundhogs are one of several species that enter true hibernation, and often build separate "winter holes" for this purpose. These burrows are usually located in forested or scaly areas and are dug under the frost line and remain at a stable temperature above freezing during the winter months. In most areas, hibernation groundhogs from October to March or April, but in more temperate regions, they can hibernate for at least three months. Groundhogs hibernate longer in northern latitudes than southern latitudes. To survive in winter, they are at their maximum weight immediately before entering hibernation. When the groundhog enters hibernation, there is a decrease in body temperature to as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit, heart rate drops to 4-10 beats per minute and the respiratory rate drops to one breath every six minutes. During hibernation, they experience periods of suspended animation and passion. They emerge from hibernation with some of the remaining body fat to live until warm spring weather produces abundant plant material for food. Men emerge from hibernation before women. Groundhogs are mostly diurnal, and are often active in the morning or late afternoon.
Reproduction
Usually groundhogs multiply in their second year, but a small fraction can breed in their first. The breeding season starts from early March to mid or late April, after hibernation. A pair of wedded remains in the same nest throughout the 31 to 32 day gestation period. At the birth of a young approach in April or May, men leave the nest. One garbage is produced every year, usually containing two to six blind, hairless and helpless. Gondola mothers introduce their children into the wilds as their feathers grow and they can see. At this time, if at all, the father of the groundhog returned to the family. They encourage their children to imitate their behavior and during this time may be different from the usual routine. At the end of August, the family broke up; or at least, a larger number spread, to dig themselves.
Relationships with humans
Both their diet and their digging habits make them serious pests around farms and gardens. They will eat a lot of vegetables that are commonly planted, and their burrows can destroy the ponds and damage the foundations. As a result, there are businesses that thrive to destroy them. Their preferred habitat in the grassy area near the forest also makes them plentiful along roads and highways where they are often the victims of passing cars.
Very often groundhogs nests provide homes for other animals including skunks, red foxes, and cottontail rabbits. Foxes and skunks feed on field mice, grasshoppers, beetles, and other creatures that destroy crops. In assisting these animals, groundhogs indirectly assist farmers. In addition to providing a home for himself and other animals, the groundhog helps in upgrading the soil by bringing a layer of soil to the surface. Landhog is also a valuable game animal and is considered a difficult sport when hunted in a fair way. In some parts of Appalachia, they are eaten.
A report in 1883 by the Woodchuck New Hampshire Legislative Committee described the attitude of some people to this animal. In part, the report states:
Woodchuck, despite its fine deformity of mind and body, has several facilities from a higher civilization. It cleans his face after the way of the squirrel, and licks his fur after the cat's way. However, your committee is too wise to be deceived by this better and shallow behavioral observation. In line with the ark, woodchuck made no material advances in the social sciences, and it is now too late to reform the recalcitrant sinner. The average age of woodchuck is too long to please your committee.... woodchuck is not only annoying, but also boring. It dug beneath the ground, and then chuckled to see the cutting machine, man and all, slumped into one of these holes and disappeared....
The committee concludes that "a small gift will prove untold goodness; in all events, even as an experiment, it is definitely worth trying, so your committee will respectfully recommend that the accompanying bill be passed."
Groundhogs may be bred in captivity, but their aggressive nature can cause problems. Doug Schwartz, a zookeeper and groundhog coach at Staten Island Zoo, has been quoted as saying "They are known for their aggression, so you start from a difficult place.The natural push is to kill them all and let God sort them out. work to produce sweet and cuddly. "The rehabilitation of wildlife is the care and care of wounded wild animals, orphans, or sick so they can be released back into the wild. If a groundhog is found to be injured, orphaned or ill, contact a rescue or wildlife rescue center. Groundhogs treated by a survivor but nonrefundable rehabilitator can remain with their caregiver and become an educational ambassador.
In the United States and Canada, the 2nd Anniversary of Groundhog Day every year has given recognition and popularity of groundhogs. The most famous of these groundhogs are Punxsutawney Phil, Wiarton Willie, Jimmy Groundhog, Dunkirk Dave, and Staten Island Chuck kept as part of Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania;, Wiarton, Ontario; Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Dunkirk, New York, and Staten Island respectively. The 1993 comedy film Groundhog Day refers to some events related to Groundhog Day, and describes Punxsutawney Phil himself, and the annual Groundhog Day ceremony. The famous South Groundhog includes Smith Lake Jake from Graysville, Alabama and General Beauregard Lee, based in Yellow River Game Ranch outside Atlanta, Georgia.
Groundhog is used in medical research on hepatitis B-induced liver cancer. Percentage of woodchuck population is infected with hepatitis woodchuck virus (WHV), similar to human hepatitis B virus. Humans do not receive hepatitis from woodchucks with WHV but the virus and its effects on the liver make woodchuck the best animal available for viral hepatitis study in humans. The only other animal model for the study of hepatitis B virus is a chimpanzee, an endangered species. Woodchucks is also used in biomedical research that investigates metabolic functions, obesity, energy balance, endocrine system, reproduction, neurology, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and neoplastic diseases.
Clay hollows have been known to reveal at least one archaeological site, the Ufferman Site in the state of Ohio USA. Although archaeologists have never dug up the Ufferman Site, many artifacts are found due to local groundhogs activities. They liked the loose soil from the esker where the site was located, and many of their excavations for their burrows had brought to the surface a large number of human and animal bones, pottery, and stone fragments. The remains of Woodchuck are found in Indian mounds in Aztalan, Jefferson County, Wisconsin.
Robert Frost's Poem "A Drumlin Woodchuck" uses groundhog imagery dug into a small ridge as a metaphor for his emotional lethargy.
References
Further reading
- Bezuidenhout, A. J. (Abraham Johannes) and Evans, Howard E. (Howard Edward). Anatomy of woodchuck (Marmota monax). Lawrence, KS: American Society of Mammalogists, 2005. ISBNÃ, 9781891276439. Online at doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.61270
External links
- Woodchuck, Outback Who's Who
- Woodchuck (Groundhog), Missouri Conservation Commission
- [7] Breeding and Experimenting Facilities for Woodchucks
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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