rinkster's Identifications

Woodchuck

1. Scientific & Common Name(s):
   The woodchuck has many common names. These common names include: woodchuck, groundhog, whistle pig, and marmot, among others (Sirucek, 2014). The woodchucks’ scientific name is Marmota monax, as it is part of the Marmota genus and Marmota monax species (Maher & Duron, 2010).

2. Habitat & Geographic Range:
   The woodchucks’ geographical range is spread throughout North America, specifically in the United States and Canada (Tobias, 2011). Its preferred habitats are fields, and open spaces (“Groundhog”, 2016). More specifically, they favour low elevation forests and grasslands which provide the most food for them (Tobias, 2011).

3. Size /Weight & Lifespan
   The size and weight of the M. monax is dependant on age and sex of the animal. Generally, the size of the head and body of a full grown, adult woodchuck ranges from 45 to 61 centimetres and its tail ranges from 18 to 25 centimetres (Tobias, 2011). The weight of the woodchuck ranges from 2 to 6 kg which is equivalent to about 4.4 to 13.2 pounds (Tobias, 2011). These animals live in the wild as well as in captivity. The range of their lifespan in the wild is from 2 to 6 years due to predation versus when in captivity, where they can live up to 10 to 14 years (Tobias, 2011).

4. Diet

The diet of the M. monax includes things that are found in its ecosystem. It is a herbivore so it feeds on grass, plants, tree bark, and fruits (“Groundhog”, 2016). Some animal foods that it eats include: insects, eggs, and mollusks while some of its plant foods include: seeds, leaves, grains, flowers, and nuts (Tobias, 2011). Interestingly, human activity such as clearing forests has optimized their abundance for food and has allowed their species to succeed (Tobias, 2011).

1. Reproduction & Communication

   Woodchucks are known to be genetically promiscuous animals (Maher & Duron, 2010). This means that they are polygynous, since per season, males have numerous mating partners (Tobias, 2011). Woodchucks are actually one of the only marmots in which females have demonstrated to mate with various males (Maher & Duron, 2010). The M. monax are the most solitary of the marmots even though they live in small groups (Maher & Duron, 2010). They mate in late winter, after hibernation, when females being to appear (Maher & Duron, 2010). Just about 30 days post breeding, the female woodchuck gives birth to 1 litter per year (Maher & Duron, 2010). Each litter can range from 1 to 9 pups, with an average of 4.5 offspring (Tobias, 2011). Young start to emerge at about 5 weeks after birth which is roughly when weaning begins, at about an age of 42 days (Ferron & Ouellet, 1991). Both male and female woodchucks reach sexual maturity at roughly 1 to 2 years of age (Tobias, 2011).
   Although woodchucks are non-social animals, they do have ways of communicating to one another. They use their sense of smell, sight, and sound for communicating (Tobias, 2011). They use secretions from glands found on the face and anus in order determine territorial boundaries (Tobias, 2011). Woodchucks also tend to whistle, bark, hiss, and growl as well as fight to form a social rank (Tobias, 2011).

2. Predation: Does the animal have any predators?

   Woodchucks have a numerous amount of predators but in many of their habitats, these predators are not a big issue, allowing for their species to thrive in most areas. Some of its known predators are snakes, bears, wolves, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and hawks (Tobias, 2011). They avoid predators by climbing into trees as well as constantly looking up while they eat (Tobias, 2011). They also warn each other of near by predators by whistling when threatened which lets near by woodchucks as well as their young know that there is a predator near by and that they need to hide (Tobias, 2011).

3. Conservation Status: is it in danger of being extinct?

   Since woodchucks are in abundance and have a fairly large geographical range, they are not in any sort of danger of being extinct (Tobias, 2011).

4. Did You Know?

   Woodchucks are the largest of the squirrel family and are the widest spread marmot since they cover the greatest geographical range (Sirucek, 2014). Another thing that sets the woodchuck apart from other animals is that they build impressive burrows which can range from 8 to 66 feet long, containing many exits and chambers, including specific rooms set aside for defecation (Sirucek, 2014). The M. monax is a very useful animal for science as it is used to study many human diseases but it is known to be the best model for human hepatic cell cancer since the woodchucks’ hepatitis virus is very much similar to that of the human hepatitis B virus (Shiga & Yamamoto & Ito, & Koshimizu, 1989). Their most famous common name is woodchuck, although it doesn’t have anything to do with wood, but instead it is thought to come from the Native word wuckak meaning ‘digger’ (Sirucek, 2014).

White Rock lake, Sunset Bay
This is where the juvenile landed after overshooting its parent. The morning was overcast. It wobbled a bit when landing but stabilized quickly.
Once stabilized, the juvenile looked in my direction and raised the feathers on its head. Birds do this to show alarm or look intimidating. It still was not too sure about me. Kind of looks like a Simpson family hairstyle.