A.RCTOMYS MOXAX. 246 



In localities where they are much hunted they become wary and 

 difficult of approach. Their hearing- is so acute that the}- take 

 alarm at sounds which escape our observation altogether. When 

 feeding or otherwise occupied they frequently stop to listen, sitting 

 bolt upright with the head inclined forward and the fore legs hang- 

 ing down over the breast. If a suspicious noise is heard and a 

 man or dog can be discerned in the distance, they are apt to pre- 

 cipitate themselves into their holes, not to emerge again till 

 sufficient time has elapsed to discourage the most enthusiastic and 

 patient of hunters who may be waiting for a shot. However, when 

 seen in an open field they may generally be stalked by a very 

 simple artifice. They seem to be wholly unacquainted with man 

 except in the erect or semi-erect posture. Taking advantage of 

 this fact, the hunter has merely to prostrate himself at full length 

 upon the ground and crawl slowly till within easy rifle range of the 

 astonished beast, which, seeing little save the top of the man's hat, 

 and curious to see more, often stands erect at the mouth of his 

 burrow, converting himself into a target that no marksman could fail 

 to hit. When a Woodchuck, seeing a man approach, withdraws 

 into his hole, he does not always retreat immediately to its inner- 

 most recesses, but sometimes tarries near the mouth to await 

 developments. The hunter, availing himself of the knowledge of 

 this fact, proceeds deliberately till within range, throws himself 

 upon the ground and utters a sharp whistle, when, not infrequently, 

 the animal's head will be seen to pop up inquiringly from its hole. 



Woodchucks live singly or in pairs, the young as a rule remain- 

 ing with their parents only through the first few months. In the 

 latter part of the summer they usually begin to shift for themselves, 

 and in early autumn they may often be met with in the fields and 

 forests far from their holes. They now take refuge in stone walls, 

 hollow logs, and even in hollow trees when there is a sufficiently 

 large opening near the ground. It is not long before each has 

 fixed upon a spot agreeable to his individual fancy, where he at 



