Woodchuck 



these parts, made it impossible for him to get fat enough to risk 

 turning in at the regular time for woodchucks to retire about the 

 first of October. 



In the days of the uncleared forest before the white-men came, 

 woodchucks, it is safe to assume, had a much longer list of 

 enemies than now. Bears, wolves, lynxes and panthers, undoubt- 

 edly all preyed on them as occasion afforded, and it is hardly 

 likely that the Indian hunter felt himself demeaned by stoopmg 

 to the chase of such humble quarry. 



At present the only native animal that the woodchucks have much 

 to fear from is the fox. From this determined hunter they are not 

 always safe, even in the depths of their burrows. In the winter 

 when the ground is unfrozen, foxes will even dig them out 

 of their winter quarters and kill them in their sleep. They dig 

 them out in warm weather as well, though I fail to see how they 

 ever manage to catch up with so accomplished a burrower in 

 an underground race. 



But the little woodchucks I expect are in much greater danger, 

 for while they are still no bigger than rats, they begin to spend sunny 

 hours exploring the grass around the burrow, or sprawled out 

 asleep on the hot earth piled in front of it. 



At such times hen-hawks or cooper's hawks might easily pick 

 them up, but I do not remember having seen evidence that they 

 often do. For awhile the old woodchucks make a point of look- 

 ing out for their safety, but in a most indifferent sort of way, 

 quite unlike the zealous watchfulness displayed by most wild 

 animals. The female has in fact on occasions been said to push her 

 offspring out of the hole one at a time in order to purchase 

 her own safety by distracting the attention of a dog that was 

 trying to dig her out. 



Varieties of the Woodchuctc 



/. Woodchuck. Arctomys monax (Linnaeus). Description and 



range as above. 

 2. Northern Woodchuck. A. monax canadensis (Erxleben). Darker 

 than the above, black and brown predominating, hairs 

 more variegated with white, cheeks gray. 

 Range. Boreal regions north of the precedmg. 

 J. Labrador Woodchuck. A. monax ignavus Bangs. Similar to the 

 last externally. 

 Range. Labrador. 



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