Groundhog

The  groundhog ( Marmota monax), also known as a  woodchuck, is a  rodent of the family  Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large  ground squirrels known as  marmots. It was first scientifically described by  Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The groundhog is also referred to as a  chuck,  wood-shock,  groundpig,  whistlepig,   whistler,  thickwood badger<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">,  Canada marmot<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">,  monax<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">,  moonack<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">,  weenusk<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">, and  red monk<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">. The name "thickwood badger" was given in the Northwest to distinguish the animal from the prairie badger. Monax was a Native American name of the woodchuck, which meant "the digger". <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:400;">Young groundhogs may be called chucklings. <span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Other marmots, such as the  yellow-bellied<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;"> and  hoary marmots<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the groundhog is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in  North America<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;"> and common in the northeastern and central  United States<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;"> and  Canada<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">. Groundhogs are found as far north as  Alaska<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">, with their habitat extending southeast to  Georgia<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">.

<span style="font-weight:400;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Gallery
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