198 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



country on leisure afternoons, to indulge in 

 Woodchuck hunting. 



Then, too, he must reckon with the farm dog, 

 which frequently develops great ability in nosing 

 him out. A certain dog by the name of Shep, 

 well known to the writer, was a famous Wood- 

 chuck hunter. Shep would locate a Woodchuck, 

 and then, while it was feeding, would move 

 quietly toward it, always keeping her body close 



|.h by Jb'. N. \V Hitman 



" TAKING A GOOD LOOK " 



Characteristic pose of a fat, lazy Woodchuck who unwittingly 

 sat for his portrait 



to the ground, but stopping instantly and lying 

 still whenever the Woodchuck raised himself 

 upon his haunches to look about and listen for 

 danger. This performance was repeated by Shep 

 until she believed that she was near enough to 

 the burrow to prevent the Woodchuck from 

 reaching the entrance first. Finally she would 

 make a dash for it, and usually there was one 

 less Woodchuck. 



The real home of the Woodchuck is the 

 tunnel or burrow in the ground, which varies in 

 length from ten to twenty-five feet, and is two 

 or three feet below the surface. The entrance 

 to the burrow slants sharply down and then up 

 to the general level, which secures better drain- 

 age. The Woodchuck is somewhat of an engi- 

 neer, though not so good as the Beaver, and 



realizing the importance of drainage, most fre- 

 quently chooses the hill-slope site. The main 

 burrow ends in a chamber of sufficient size for 

 the occupants to turn around comfortably. There 

 may be one or more side tunnels, varying in 

 length from three to five feet. Frequently at 

 the end of one of these is an observation outlet, 

 which also may be used in times of invasion by 

 other animals, such as the Fox, Mink, or Skunk. 



The home life of the \\'oodchuck, as well as 

 that of other animals, is most interesting. The 

 writer was fortunate enough to know quite well 

 one \^'oodchuck family. They lived by the old 

 rail fence, just back of the orchard on a sunny 

 slope, the mother and five little ones. The cubs 

 were born about the first of May in a snug little 

 chamber, at the end of the main burrow, con- 

 taining a small bed of dry grass and leaves 

 gathered the fall before by the mother. The 

 mother made herself known by a shrill whistle 

 of alarm at Rover and his boy master as they 

 were on their way to the trout stream one rainy 

 morning in early June. The dog ran quickly 

 in the direction of the sound and was soon at the 

 entrance of the burrow, thrusting in his head, 

 wagging his tail, and uttering the short, quick 

 yelps so characteristic of the shepherd dog. 



The' mother was too thoroughly frightened to 

 venture out again, probably for an hour or more, 

 Init one day a little later she appeared at the 

 door of the earth-castle, and the five cubs came 

 tumbling along the narrow passage after her. 

 It was evidently the first time they had opened 

 their great wondering brown eyes on the out- 

 side world. The sweet odors from the meadows 

 whispered to their awakening instincts of the 

 clover and grasses they would soon be hunting 

 for themselves. The song of the wren from the 

 old orchard, the merry tune of the bobolinks, the 

 whistle of the meadow lark, and the buzz of 

 insects told them of other dwellers in their new 

 world. 



The mother was more alert than usual for all 

 sounds which threatened danger to her family, 

 and did not venture from the entrance until a 

 thorough survey of the surroundings had been 

 made. When satisfied that danger was not lurk- 

 ing in the immediate vicinity, she led the way 

 into the grass and began nibbling the clover 

 leaves. Instinctively imitating her, the cubs fol- 

 lowed close after their mother and also began 

 nibbling the juicy leaves with their sharp little 

 teeth. They were learning their first lesson in 

 the meadow — how to eat. 



The real object of their outing was accom- 

 plished when they had filled their stomachs, and 

 then they began playing about in the grass very 



