THK WOODCmn^K (iKOlfNI) 1I()(J 



488 



sible danger. 11' llic coast is clear he wanders off, usually follow- 

 ing a path of his own making and nibbling clover or grass on the 

 way. He does not forget to rise up on his haunches and look for 

 danger, even while feeding. In the spring, while lean and hungry, 

 he may stay out for an indefinite length of time. Later in the sum- 

 mer he usually returns in an hour or two, and perhaps does not 

 come out again till late afternoon. At this time he sometimes goes 

 for a visit to his neighbor across the field, but most often he stays 

 near home, although he may prolong his supper till after nightfall. 

 Sometimes he comes out for a midday lunch also. 



If discovered away from his burrow he knows but one thing to 

 do — get back to safety at once. Under such circumstances he does 

 not hesitate to run directly toward a person and his rush is so im- 

 petuous that one is apt to be knocked down if he remains in the 

 animal's path. If cornered the woodchuck at once shows fight, and 

 his long, powerful incisors make him a formidable antagonist for 

 any inexperienced dog. 



At the present time men, dogs, and possibly foxes, are the only 

 enemies the adult woodchuck has to fear. For this reason the spe- 

 cies has increased in abundance in recent years, where formerly 

 their numbers were held in check by such carnivorous animals as 

 wolves, coyotes, bears, panthers and lynxes. The writer can remem- 

 ber when, somewhat more than twenty years ago, an older brother 

 killed a woodchuck and all the boys and some of the men in the 

 neighborhood were ignorant as to the identity of the animal. At 

 the present time the same farm in southeastern Indiana harbors 

 from 25 to 50 "ground pigs," as they are popularly called, and 

 their appearance is doubtless familiar to every country boy in the 

 State. 



Economic status. — The woodchuck has no good qualities and 

 many evil ones. The animal is a voracious eater during the seasons 

 that crops are growing. Besides eating a great quantity of clover, 

 grass, some grain, a little fruit, and occasionally garden vege- 

 tables, they make paths through the meadows and grain fields, and 

 tread down more than they eat. Where there are few on a farm, 

 the loss is not very noticeable, but where they become abundant 

 they do much damage. In some localities they have become such 

 pests that bounties are offered by the county. Porter County paid 

 out $700 in such bounties during the five years ending with 1905. 

 At ten cents apiece, this means an average destruction of 1,400 

 woodchucks per year. The numbers were not appreciably dimin- 

 ished, however, and the money might have been expended with 



