# Groundhog — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Marmota monax*

> A groundhog (Marmota monax) is a large North American ground squirrel, or marmot, in the squirrel family. A stout, powerful burrower and true hibernator weighing up to about 6 kilograms, it lives across the eastern United States and Canada and is famous for Groundhog Day.

**IUCN status:** Least Concern (IUCN)  ·  **WARN range:** North America, Eastern United States, Canada, Alaska

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Common names | Groundhog, woodchuck, whistle-pig |
| Scientific name | Marmota monax |
| Animal group | Marmot (a large ground squirrel) |
| Body length | About 42-69 cm, plus a short tail |
| Weight | About 2-6 kg (heaviest before winter) |
| Range | Eastern USA, much of Canada, into Alaska |
| Habitat | Meadows, field edges, woodland margins, gardens |
| Diet | Herbivore: grasses and leafy plants |
| Hibernation | True hibernator, roughly October to spring |
| Lifespan | About 2-3 years wild; up to ~14 in captivity |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Rodentia
- **Family:** Sciuridae (squirrels and marmots)
- **Genus:** Marmota
- **Species:** Marmota monax

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Least Concern. The groundhog is a common, widespread and adaptable species across North America, and is not considered globally threatened. It tolerates human-altered landscapes well and is often regarded as a garden or agricultural pest rather than a species of conservation concern.
- **Population:** No global total; abundant and common throughout its large range
- **Trend:** Stable
- **Assessed:** 2016
- **CITES:** Not listed in CITES Appendices
- While the species overall is secure, groundhogs face local pressures from road traffic, lethal pest control and habitat change. They play a useful ecological role: their abandoned burrows shelter other wildlife, and their digging helps turn and aerate the soil.

## Key facts: Groundhog
- The groundhog is a marmot, a large ground-dwelling squirrel, not a separate kind of animal from woodchucks; the two names refer to the same species.
- It is a true hibernator, dropping its body temperature to near freezing and its heart rate to a handful of beats per minute through winter.
- Powerful claws and stocky limbs make it an expert digger, moving large volumes of soil to build multi-entrance burrows.
- Groundhogs are almost entirely herbivorous, eating grasses and garden plants and fattening rapidly before winter.
- The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, common and widespread across North America.
- Each 2 February, a groundhog stars in the Groundhog Day folk tradition predicting the arrival of spring.

## What is a groundhog and where does it live?
The groundhog is one of around fifteen marmot species and the only one widely adapted to lowland life rather than mountains. Stocky and powerfully built, an adult measures roughly 42 to 69 centimetres in body length with a short, bushy tail, and weighs between about 2 and 6 kilograms, with the heaviest individuals reaching peak mass just before winter. Its coarse fur is typically grizzled brown, and short, strong limbs end in curved claws suited to digging. Groundhogs range across eastern North America, from the eastern and central United States through much of Canada and into Alaska. They favour open and edge habitats: meadows, pastures, woodland margins, hedgerows, road verges and increasingly suburban gardens and parks. This adaptability to human-altered landscapes is one reason the species remains so common. Each groundhog centres its life on a burrow system, rarely straying far from a den entrance, and will rear up on its hind legs to scan for danger, whistling a sharp alarm call that earns it the nickname whistle-pig.

## How do groundhogs hibernate?
Groundhogs are among the few mammals that are true, deep hibernators, distinct from animals that merely sleep more in winter. From roughly October until February, March or April, depending on latitude, a groundhog retreats to a separate winter chamber below the frost line and enters a profound state of torpor. Its body temperature falls dramatically, dropping to as low as about 2 degrees Celsius, close to the temperature of the surrounding soil. Its heart rate slows from a normal pace to just 4 to 10 beats per minute, and breathing may drop to a single breath every six minutes. To survive this fast, the groundhog spends late summer and autumn eating voraciously, sometimes nearly doubling its weight, then slowly burns those fat reserves through winter, emerging in spring having lost up to half its body mass. This extreme physiology is so striking that groundhogs have become important research subjects for understanding metabolism, body-temperature regulation and the biology of hibernation.

## Why are groundhogs such good diggers, and what do they eat?
Digging defines the groundhog's life. Using strong forelimbs and claws, a single animal can excavate a burrow system with two to five entrances and tunnels that, in the longest recorded cases, stretch around seven metres, complete with separate chambers for nesting, hibernating and toileting. These burrows shelter the groundhog from predators and weather and, once abandoned, provide homes for other wildlife such as foxes, rabbits and amphibians, while the churned soil helps aerate and mix the earth. The downside, from a human view, is that burrows can undermine field edges and gardens. Groundhogs are essentially herbivorous, feeding on grasses, clover, dandelions, plantains and a wide range of leafy plants, along with garden vegetables, fruit and occasionally crops, which is why they are often regarded as pests by growers. An adult may eat more than half a kilogram of vegetation in a single day during the feeding season, fuel for the long winter fast ahead.

## What is Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day, observed on 2 February, is a North American folk tradition with roots in older European weather customs tied to Candlemas. According to the lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter will follow; if the day is cloudy and it casts no shadow, spring will arrive early. The most famous participant is a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, though several towns across the United States and Canada hold their own ceremonies. In reality the date falls in the middle of the groundhog's hibernation period, and the prediction has no meteorological value, a groundhog roused in early February would normally return underground. The tradition is best understood as cultural celebration and seasonal folklore rather than science, but it has made this otherwise unassuming rodent one of the most recognised wild mammals in the world.

## Groundhog vs other marmots
| Feature | Groundhog (woodchuck) | Other marmots (e.g. alpine and yellow-bellied) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical habitat | Lowland meadows, field edges, gardens | Mostly mountains and high alpine slopes |
| Sociality | Largely solitary | Often live in colonies |
| Range | Eastern USA, Canada, Alaska | Western North America, Europe, Asia |
| Hibernation | Deep true hibernator | Also deep hibernators |
| Fame | Star of Groundhog Day | Less culturally prominent |

## What WARN does
WARN does not run field conservation projects specifically for the groundhog, which is a common, Least Concern species living outside WARN's five partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand and value wildlife. The broader threats that touch all wild animals, especially habitat loss and the steady conversion of meadows and field edges, are the same pressures that endanger the species WARN does protect in its partner regions.

If this guide helped you see a familiar burrowing neighbour in a new light, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education growing.

## Frequently asked questions: Groundhog
### Is a groundhog the same as a woodchuck?
Yes. Groundhog and woodchuck are two common names for exactly the same species, Marmota monax. Other regional names include whistle-pig and land-beaver. The name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood or chucking; it derives from an Indigenous word that English speakers reshaped. So the old tongue-twister about how much wood a woodchuck could chuck is pure wordplay, not biology.

### Are groundhogs rodents or related to squirrels?
Groundhogs are rodents and, more specifically, members of the squirrel family, Sciuridae. They belong to the marmot group, which means they are essentially large, ground-dwelling squirrels. While tree squirrels are slim and arboreal, marmots like the groundhog are heavy-bodied and built for life on and under the ground, but the family relationship is close and genuine.

### Do groundhogs really hibernate?
Yes, groundhogs are true hibernators, among the deepest of any North American mammal. During winter their body temperature can fall to around 2 degrees Celsius and their heart rate slows to just 4 to 10 beats per minute. They survive on fat built up in autumn, neither eating nor drinking for months, and can lose up to half their body weight before emerging in spring.

### What do groundhogs eat?
Groundhogs are almost entirely herbivorous. They graze on grasses, clover, dandelions, plantains and many other leafy plants, and readily eat garden vegetables, fruit and farm crops, which is why gardeners often consider them pests. An adult can consume more than half a kilogram of vegetation in a day during the warm months, building the fat reserves it needs to survive its long winter hibernation.

### Are groundhogs dangerous to people or gardens?
Groundhogs are not aggressive towards people and will usually flee or retreat to their burrows when approached. They can damage gardens, crops and field edges by feeding on plants and digging extensive tunnels, and their burrows occasionally undermine structures or create holes in pasture. Like any wild mammal they can bite if cornered, so it is best to observe them at a distance and never handle them.

### How long do groundhogs live?
In the wild, groundhogs typically live only two to three years, with about six years being an upper limit, as predators, disease, harsh winters and road traffic take a heavy toll. Common predators include coyotes, foxes, bobcats, hawks and snakes, especially of the young. In protected captive conditions, free from those pressures, groundhogs have been recorded living to around fourteen years of age.

## Sources
- [Groundhog - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog)
- [IUCN Red List - Marmota monax](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/42458/22257685)
- [Woodchuck (Marmota monax) - Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/animal/woodchuck)
- [Groundhog Day - Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Groundhog-Day)
- [Marmota monax - Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan)](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Marmota_monax/)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/groundhog