1250 



Rural School Leaflet 



seeds in a tree. When surprised by a passer-by, they utter a sharp chip- 



pcr-r-r-r and dash for a retreat, preferring a loose brush heap, a rail fence, 



or a similar structure, where they can watch readily and change their 



position frequently. Their homes arc long, crooked tunnels in a bank, 



with entrances in a thicket. The burrows are one and one-half or two 



inches in diameter, and have a network of branches. The nests are 



deep in tlie ground. The four or live young leave the nest by June and 



arc full-grown by August. 



Woodchuck 



One scarcely associates the slow-moving woodchuck with its stout 

 heavy body, with the other spry squirrels to which it is related. Its tail 



is short and densely covered 

 with long, rather stiff hairs. 

 In color the coat is grizzly 

 gray varied with chestnut, 

 yellow, or black, with the 

 tuidcr i)arts reddish. Partly 

 or wholly black individuals 

 arc not uncommon, and white 

 ones are seen occasionally. 



The woodchuck is a wood- 

 land animal, but prefers to 

 have its home on the edge of 

 a sunny opening or near a 

 rolling pasture. The burrows 

 are of varying complexity 

 from seven to fifty feet in 

 length, and with one or more 

 nesting chambers. The wood- 

 chuck chooses woodland burrows in which to hibernate with its mate. 

 Although sluggish in. movement, rarely climljing trees, swimming poorly, 

 and returning to its burrow whenever pursued, it is, when at bay, a 

 fighter that knows no surrender. 



The four or five undeveloped young are bom in the underground nest 

 about the end of April and remain in the den until mid- June. The male 

 woodchuck sometimes returns home when the young can venture forth. 

 It has been reported that the woodchuck can sing, producing birdlike 

 notes resembling those of canaries. 



Although the woodchuck is a profound hibemator, it sometimes comes 

 out while the ground is still covered with several feet of snow. The 

 tracks it makes are commonly in pairs, a few inches apart, one a little in 

 advance and showing distinct thumb marks. 



The favorite foods of the woodchuck are grass and clover. 





SMii 





Woodchuck 



