Mammal Study 



229 



THE WOODCHUCK 



Teacher's Story 



who knows the ways of the woodchuck can 

 readily guess where it is likely to be found; 

 it loves meadows and pastures where grass or 

 clover lushly grows. It is also fond of garden 

 truck and has a special delectation for melons. 

 The burrow is likely to be situated near a fence 

 or stone heap, which gives easy access to the 

 chosen food. The woodchuck makes its 

 burrow by digging the earth loose with its 

 front feet, and pushing it backward and out of 

 the entrance with the hind feet. This method 

 leaves the soil in a heap near the entrance, from which paths radiate into 

 the grass in all directions. If one undertakes to dig out a woodchuck, one 

 needs to be not only a husky individual, but something of an engineer; 

 the direction of the burrow extends downward for a little way, and then 

 rises at an easy angle, so that the inmate may be in no danger of flood. 

 The nest is merely an enlargement of the burrow, lined with soft grass, 

 which the woodchucks bring in in their mouths. During the early part 

 of the season, the father and mother and the litter of young may inhabit 

 the same burrow, although there are likely to be at least two separate 

 nests. There is usually more than one back door to the woodchuck's 

 dwelling, through which it may escape, if pressed too closely by enemies; 

 these back doors differ from the entrance, in that they are usually hidden 

 and have no earth heaped near them. 



The woodchuck usually feeds in the morning and again in the evening, 

 and is likely to spend the middle of. the day resting. It often goes some 

 distance from its burrow to feed, and at short intervals, lifts itself upon 

 its hind feet to see if the coast is clear; if assailed, it will seek to escape 

 by running to its burrow; and when running, it has a peculiar gait well 

 described as "pouring itself along." If it reaches its burrow, it at once 

 begins to dig deeply and throw the earth out behind it, thus making a 

 wall to keep out the enemy. When cornered, the woodchuck is a coura- 

 geous and fierce fighter; its sharp incisors prove a powerful weapon and it 

 will often whip a dog much larger than itself. Every boy knows how to 

 find whether the woodchuck is in its den or not, by rolling a stone into the 

 burrow, and listening; if the animal is at home, the sound of its digging 

 apprises the listener of the fact. In earlier times, the ground-hogs were 

 much preyed upon by wolves, wildcats and foxes; now, only the fox 

 remains and he is fast disappearing, so that at present, the farmer and his 

 dog are about the only enemies this burro wer has to contend with. It is 

 an animal of resources and will climb a tree if attacked by a dog; it will 

 also climb trees for fruit, like peaches. During the late summer, it is the 

 ground-hog's business to feed very constantly and become very fat. 

 About the first of October, it retires to its den and sleeps until the end of 

 March or April. During this dormant state, the beating of its heart is so 

 faint as to be scarcely perceptible, and very little nourishment is required 

 to keep it alive ; this nourishment is supplied by the fat stored in its body, 

 which it uses up by March, and comes out of its burrow in the spring, look- 

 ing gaunt and lean. The old saying that the ground-hog comes out on 



