Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

Woodchuck, whistlepig, or weather person?

prompt:Groundhogs

This largest animal of the marmot family is much loved by humankind or not; depending on whether one of these vegetarian cat sized rodents are snacking from your garden or just roaming your fields.

In Pennsylvania there has been an open season on woodchucks for lots of years. Open season means a hunter can shoot them at any time of the year. There are reasons for this. They build extensive tunnels underground or under buildings. The tunnels have specialized burrows for sleeping areas, bathrooms, and nesting areas.

The animal is called by more than one name. Some of the most used are groundhog, woodchuck, and whistle pig. Many like to reside in mowed yards close to crops of lawn grass, dandelions, and goldenrod. The females give birth to 3 to 5 young at a time and can actually have more than one litter a year. The young leave the female parent within 2 months of birth to strike out on their own. Building their own tunnels. Unchecked they would soon over run the world if given a chance. Unfortunately, man is not the only predator. Dogs, fox, bear, coyote, any animal that will eat meat will predate on whistle pigs.

Whistle pigs is one of the other names tagged to them, because they give a loud shrill, warning whistle when they are startled by danger.

Lucky for them the animal has lots of fans who rescue them from a life lived in the wild and give them plush homes as weather predictors. In captivity woodchucks, the name I know them from, make excellent pals. playing with toys, being petted and eating a healthy vegetarian diet. Their grey undercoat with a banded overcoat of black and brown is brushed and pampered.

The Algonquin name for the animal was "wuchak" which seems to have traveled to English as woodchuck, Woodchucks don't particularly chunk wood they leave that to the beavers. I guess they do eat wood shavings and bark sometimes its part of their veggie diet.

There are actually many groundhogs in captivity being used as weather predicters. They have about a 37 per cent accuracy in spite of caretakers who say 100 per cent accuracy. One in Canada tops out at 50 percent accuracy. Yes, there are groundhog weather predicters in Canada and the United States. Philidelphia Phill must hire a good publicist.

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would chuck wood. Your guess should be approximate.

Just a few facts about our favorite February weather predicter from your local journalist. Have a good day.