The groundhog thrives despite human superstitions
They aren't the biggest. Or the fastest. Or the most revered or fearsome.
But when it comes to publicity, this rodent takes a backseat to no other wildlife species.
We're talking about the groundhog. Think about it for a moment: Every American can name it. It was the subject of a hit movie starring Bill Murray. And what other animal has a date on the calendar in its honor?
Come Feb. 2 each year, images of groundhogs are splashed across electronic and print news as part of a longstanding folk tradition.
Just don't misunderstand. If you see a photo of one wearing a little hat, that's not normal.
Neither is a groundhog outside its burrow in mid-winter. Nor one pretending to be a meteorologist.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks and whistle pigs, are true hibernators. They go into their dens in late fall and, except for brief periods of activity underground, keep their heart rates and body temperatures very low until March or April.
And not a one has a desire to leave its cozy quarters to step out on the snowy landscape and check on its shadow.
But they've been appropriated by humans - it's a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that has its roots in Germany - for the Groundhog Day superstition.
"It's one of their saving graces," said David Drake, UW-Extension wildlife specialist and associate professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and UW-Madison. "If it weren't for Feb. 2, a lot fewer people would know about groundhogs."
Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas, according to History.com, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be.
Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal, described in various texts as a badger, a bear or hedgehog, as a means of predicting weather.
German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition but switched to groundhogs, a plentiful animal in the Keystone State. The folks at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney claim the first celebration of Groundhog Day in America on Feb. 2, 1887.
The tradition goes like this: If a groundhog comes out of its hole and sees its shadow on Feb. 2, it portends six more weeks of winter weather, whereas no shadow means an early spring.
Dozens of sites across the country host Groundhog Day events with captive groundhogs with names such as Punxsutawney Phil, Chattanooga Chuck (in Tennessee) and Essex Ed (New Jersey) are pulled out of their quarters for their 15 minutes of annual fame.
Gordy the Groundhog is the current star at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, he will make a virtual appearance this year.
Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin made national news in 2015 when he bit the ear of Sun Prairie Mayor Jon Freund during an appearance. The animal's handler was apparently holding it to Freund's ear to "whisper" the forecast.
I think Jimmy's message was pretty clear: "Put me back in my quarters so I can hibernate in peace."
That's what wild groundhogs are doing right about now.
The species is, along with chipmunks, bats and a select few others, one of Wisconsin's true hibernators. They live in burrows that are often 5 feet deep and can extend for 60 or more feet.
And while they are sometimes called woodchucks, the answer to the saw
A groundhog looks out of its burrow in late winter. "how much wood would a woodchuck chuck?" is zero. They don't eat woody vegetation, much less throw it around; they mostly subsist on grasses, flowers and other green plants.
Woodchucks are related to squirrels and though they spend the vast majority of their time on and under the ground are actually good climbers. Don't be surprised to see one in a tree.
They typically weigh 5 to 15 pounds, are 16 to 27 inches from nose to tip of tail and have brown fur. They have sharp incisor teeth to cut their food.
In a wonder of evolution, groundhogs' incisors stop growing during hibernation, Drake said.
Groundhogs are native to Wisconsin and are found across much of North America in grassland, mixed forest, agricultural and even urban landscapes.
They are among the suite of native
Wisconsin wildlife – including whitetailed deer, wild turkey, raccoon, coyote, Canada goose, gray squirrel and cottontail rabbit – that has found a way to survive, even thrive, in and around humandeveloped habitat.
Groundhogs have strong forearms and shoulders for digging. This trait gets them in trouble on farms with livestock, as their burrows can cause injuries to cows and horses. It also irritates homeowners when groundhogs dig along or under building foundations.
"Woodchucks are part of the natural environment and, as with many species of wildlife, their behavior and habits can be both a benefit and a nuisance," Drake said.
Groundhogs seem to have a penchant for living near humans.
Scott Pitta of Wisconsin Dells said groundhogs liked to den under his decommissioned outhouse.
George Meyer of Madison grew up on a dairy farm in New Holstein where groundhogs burrowed under the corn crib. The grain, of course, was meant for the livestock, so Meyer's father trapped and shot groundhogs that raided the storage shed.
The animals did not go to waste. The family skinned and ate the groundhogs.
"These were good-sized animals and they had a very good diet," Meyer said. "My mother used to boil them or put them into a stew. It was very tasty."
Tim Lawhern of Madison said he ate groundhogs often when he was growing up in Tennessee. "The young ones are tender but the older ones had to be pressure cooked!" Lawhern said.
For many years groundhogs could be killed for causing damage but couldn't be legally hunted or trapped on public land in Wisconsin. That changed in 2013.
Groundhogs can now be pursued with a small game license. Very few people target the species, however.
According to data from the Department of Natural Resources annual hunter survey, in 2019-20 about 300 hunters and trappers harvested about 5,600 groundhogs in Wisconsin. Small game hunters intent on gathering local, freerange protein could find an abundant source in groundhogs.
Far more of the animals die each year on roads when they are struck by vehicles than would likely ever be taken by hunters.
Overall, the species is in very good shape, Drake said.
"They are good survivors," Drake said. "They typically don't venture far from their burrows so they generally avoid predators. And they are well adapted to the developed landscape. They should be around for a very long time."
Groundhogs emerge from their dens in Wisconsin in March or April. For them, it's the end of hibernation and the start of breeding season.
This year, instead of a human-concocted prediction based on shadows or lack thereof on Feb. 2, consider this as the sign spring has sprung: your first sighting of a groundhog amid melting snow and greening grass.