Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are common burrowing rodents found across much of North America. These stout, short-legged mammals are well-adapted to their environments, often seen in fields, pastures, and the edges of woodlands.
Groundhog Daily Rhythms
Groundhogs are primarily diurnal, meaning their activity occurs during daylight hours. While some describe them as crepuscular, showing peak activity around dawn and dusk, they are not nocturnal and generally do not forage at night. They typically emerge from their burrows in the early morning.
Foraging sessions often take place during the cooler parts of the day, specifically in the early morning and late afternoon. This helps them avoid intense midday heat, especially in summer, when they may retreat to their cool burrows. Groundhogs have good daytime vision, allowing them to detect predators from a distance, but their poor night vision makes nighttime activity risky. They return to their burrows at dusk and remain there until dawn.
Typical Groundhog Diet
Groundhogs are predominantly herbivorous, with a diet mainly of plant matter. They consume a wide variety of green plants, vegetables, and fruits found in their habitat. Common food items include wild grasses, clover, alfalfa, dandelions, and various garden vegetables such as lettuce, corn, carrots, peas, and beans. They also eat berries, cherries, apples, and the bark and twigs of certain trees like black cherry and dogwood.
While their diet is overwhelmingly plant-based, groundhogs are opportunistic feeders and may occasionally consume small animals. This can include insects like June bugs, grasshoppers, snails, and even bird eggs or very young birds. Groundhogs obtain most hydration from the moisture in the plants they eat, along with dew on leaves. An adult groundhog can consume over one pound of vegetation daily, especially during spring and summer as they build fat reserves for hibernation.
Life in a Groundhog Burrow
Groundhogs spend a significant portion of their lives within extensive underground burrow systems. These burrows serve multiple purposes, providing shelter for sleeping, raising young, and offering protection from predators and harsh weather conditions. A typical groundhog burrow features a main entrance, often identified by a mound of excavated soil, and can have two to five, or even more, auxiliary entrances for escape.
The structure of these burrows is complex, with tunnels extending horizontally for many feet and chambers designated for nesting, hibernation, and even waste disposal. The nest chamber, often lined with dead leaves and dried grasses, can be located up to three feet below the surface. Groundhogs retreat into these burrows as evening approaches and remain there throughout the night. During the winter months, groundhogs enter a state of true hibernation within a specialized winter burrow, relying entirely on stored fat reserves.