196 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



of Montana. \\Voming, Colorado and Utah. It 

 is interesting as being the smallest of all the 

 Chipmunks. Ordinarily it is shy, but it soon be- 

 comes tame about camps if not molested. 



Tozi'iiscnd's Chipmunk is a large dark form 



found in the coast regions of British Columbia, 

 Washington, Oregon and California. The light 

 and dark stripes are not nearly so pronounced as 

 in the Say Chipmunk, or the other closely allied 

 forms. This is the largest of all the Chipmunks. 



EASTERN WOODCHUCK 

 Marmota monax ( Linnaeus) 



Other Names. — Eastern Marmot ; Groundhog. 



General Description. — A large, heavy-bodied, short- 

 tailed terrestrial Squirrel. Nose blunt ; head rounded ; 

 ears low and rounded ; body robust and generally fat : 

 tail short, less than half the length of head and body, 

 moderately bushy ; legs short ; hair everywhere rather 

 long and coarse ; front feet with four well-developed 

 toes and a rudimentary thumb : hind feet with five 

 toes ; general color grizzly-brown. Hibernates in winter. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, 



molars, - 



Canines. 



Pre- 



=22. 



Molars, ^~-^= 



1 — 1 3—3 



Pelage. — Adults : Sexes identical, no marked sea- 

 sonal variation. General color grizzly brown, the hairs 

 on the back with gray tips and blackish at base ; 

 belly and underparts brownish-chestnut; nose and chin 

 gray ; cheeks and throat yellowish-white ; feet black 

 or dark brown ; tail dark brown with gray tips to many 

 of the hairs. Variations on this typical coloration are 

 not infrequent, some individuals being much darker. 

 Young : Pale brownish. 



Measurements. — Total length, 22 to 2$ inches ; tail 



vertebrae. 5 to 6 inches ; hind foot. 3.4 to 3.7 inches. 

 Weight about 8 pounds. 



Range. — From New York to Georgia, west to the 

 Dakotas and south to Virginia, Kentucky and Ten- 

 nessee. 



Food. — Green vegetation, roots and grain. 



Remarks. — Woodchucks are closely related to the 

 Prairie Dogs and Ground Squirrels, or Spermophiles. 

 but may be easily distinguished from any of these by 

 their large size, as they are without question the largest 

 squirrel-like mammal of North .\merica. Ranging over 

 a great part of our continent north of 35° latitude to 

 the Arctic circle, the Woodchuck has become well 

 differentiated into several distinct types, and in addition, 

 local variations of these types have been described, 

 making in all thirteen species and subspecies. 



Related Species 

 Eastern Marmot. — Maniicta iiioiiax moiia.r (Lin- 

 luiciis). Tlie typical animal as described above. 

 See also Hoary Marmot, and other western forms. 



Every farm boy and girl knows the Wood- 

 chuck, for he is as much a part of the farm as 

 the brook or the sugar-bush. In a tramp 

 through the fields aliuost any time during the 

 spring or summer, one is likely to catch a glimpse 

 of him as he waddles away to his burrow, or 

 possibly to his den in the wall or stone-heap, 

 which he sometimes prefers for a .summer home. 

 Those who know him well can easily distin- 

 guish his home by the peculiar odor which is 

 always present. 



W'hen our grandfathers w^ere boys the \\ood- 

 chuck usually had his home in the woods, where 

 he fed on the tender bark and roots of various 

 kinds, but today we find him more inclined to 

 the fields, near the farmer's clover-patch. There 

 is a touch of laziness in his disposition and 

 probably he finds the clover-patch an easier place 

 to get his living. Then, too. it is nearer the 

 garden where he can occasionally taste the juicy 

 peas, beans, and lettuce, of which he is very 

 fond. But he has greatly added to his danger 



by this change, for here the farmer continually 

 wages warfare against him from early spring 

 until fall. Many are trapped, some are shot, 

 and others are killed by farm dogs. 



Trapping is easier in May or June than 

 later in the summer when experience has made 

 them wise and timid. Sometimes, leading from 

 the burrow is a well-defined path through the 

 grass, and in this the trap is set. but usually it 

 is placed at the entrance of the burrow and made 

 fa:,t to a stake which is driven into the groimd. 

 Old Woodchucks at last become very shy and 

 develop great skill in detecting and avoiding the 

 dangers of the traps. Sometimes one of them 

 will spring a trap day after day without being 

 caught, or even dig around the trap. 



After the grass has been mowed in the 

 meadows and he can no longer hide himself, the 

 Woodchuck becomes still more shy, for he must 

 now look out for the farmer and also the village 

 sportsmen, who often betake themselves to the 



