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February 2^nd marks Groundhog Day, an annual tradition in which we rouse a sleepy, burrowing rodent to give us winter-weary humans the forecast for spring. Although Punxsutawney Phil does his best as an ambassador for his species, revelers in Gobbler’s Knob and elsewhere likely know little about the true life of a wild groundhog beyond its penchant for vegetable gardens and large burrow entrances. In celebration of the only mammal to have its own holiday, I share with you eight lesser-known facts about groundhogs.

1.   Groundhogs, whistlepigs, woodchucks, all names for the same animal. Depending on where you live, you might have heard all three of these names; however, woodchuck is the scientifically accepted common name for the species, Marmota monax. As the first word suggests, the woodchuck is a marmot, a genus comprised of 15 species of medium-sized, ground-dwelling squirrels. Although woodchucks are generally solitary and live in lowland areas, most marmot species live in social groups in mountainous parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.

2.   How much wood would a woodchuck chuck? As a biologist who studies woodchucks, this is the number one question I am asked about my study species. To set the record straight, woodchucks do not actually chuck wood! In fact, the name “woodchuck” is actually thought to derive from the Native American word for the animal, not because of the species’ association with wood. Although they may chew or scent mark on woody debris near their burrows, they do not cut down trees (unlike their cousin, the American beaver, Castor canadensis).

3.   Woodchucks are the widest-ranging marmot, and are able to adjust to a variety of habitats and climates to survive. Woodchucks are found in wooded edges, agricultural fields, residential gardens, and suburban office parks as far north as Alaska, eastward throughout Canada, and as far south as Alabama and Georgia. The weather extremes of these areas range from subzero winters to scorching summers, thus woodchucks must employ unique physiological strategies to survive. Woodchucks are considered urban-adapters because of their ability to live around humans by taking advantage of anthropogenic food sources such as garden landscaping and managed vegetation.

4.   Woodchucks are considered the largest true-hibernators. As herbivores, woodchucks have very little to eat during the winter months when most vegetation has died. To save energy during the winter, woodchucks hibernate. The timing of this slowdown is thought to depend partly on photoperiod, which varies by latitude. They generally seek hibernacula under structures or in wooded areas protected from wind. Prior to hibernating, a woodchuck will go in and out of the burrow for a few days to a few weeks, foraging to build up fat stores until entering one last time to plug the burrow entrance behind them with leaves and debris. As a true hibernator, the body temperature of a woodchuck can drop to just a few degrees above that of the burrow, their breathing decreases, and their heart rate slows to around 10 beats per minute. Although they rarely exit the burrow, hibernating woodchucks awake every 10 days or so, hang out in their burrows, and then go back sleep after a few days. The length of the hibernation season can range from just 75 days, to over 175 days, depending on their location. They emerge in early spring, and generally breed soon after.

5.   Woodchucks dig complex underground burrow systems, in which they rest, rear young, and escape from predators. If you are a homeowner who has had a woodchuck on your property, you are probably familiar with the large and numerous holes that woodchucks dig in the ground. These many entrances are used as “escape hatches” for a woodchuck to quickly go underground at the first sign of a threat. As escape is their best line of defense, rarely will a woodchuck forage more than 20 meters from a burrow entrance. Underground, burrow systems are comprised of multiple tunnels, some up to 13 meters in length and over 2 meters deep, that lead to multiple chambers, including bedroom chambers, and even a latrine burrow (woodchucks rarely defecate above ground to avoid attracting predators). Based on our research, woodchucks can use up to 25 different burrow systems, likely moving around to avoid predators, look for mates, and find new foraging spots.

6.   Woodchucks can swim and climb trees. Although their portly body shape does not suggest agility, woodchucks can move quickly when they really need to. To avoid predators, woodchucks are able to swim short distances across creeks and drainage ditches, and are able to climb trees. They have even been spotted on rooftops and on high branches of mulberry trees, foraging on berries.

7.   Woodchucks vocalize. The origin of the name “whistle pig” comes from the high-pitched, loud whistle woodchucks emit when threatened, likely to warn offspring or other adults of an approaching predator. In addition to the whistle, woodchucks will chatter their large incisors as a threatening reminder of the strength of their bite.

8.   Woodchucks are easy to observe. My favorite characteristic about woodchucks is that their size (about the size of a house cat) and daytime activity patterns make them easy to observe. Unlike most mammals, you can easily spot them foraging in open fields and roadsides and they generally will tolerate the presence of humans at a distance. If you live in the woodchuck’s native range, keep your eyes peeled for these large squirrels, grab your binoculars, and take a minute to watch them forage and vigilantly observe their environment. It’s a fun way for kids and adults alike to test their skills as a wildlife biologist!

Image Credit: “Groundhog.” Photo by Matt MacGillivray. CC by 2.0 via Flickr.

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Once a year the eyes of the nation turn to this tiny hamlet in western Pennsylvania, to watch a master at work. The master, Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous weatherman, the groundhog. Who, as legend has it, can predict the coming of an early spring. So I guess the question we have to ask ourselves today is, does Phil feel lucky?

~Ground Hog Day

In the United States, a German belief about the badger (applied in Switzerland to the wolf) has been transferred to the woodchuck, better known as the groundhog: on Candlemas he breaks his hibernation in order to observe the weather; if he can see his shadow he returns to his slumbers for six weeks, but if it rains he stays up and about, since winter will soon be over. This has earned Candlemas the name of ‘Groundhog Day’. In Quarryville, Lancaster County, Pa., a Slumbering Groundhog Lodge was formed, whose members, wearing silk hats and carrying canes, went out in search of a groundhog burrow; on finding one they watched its inhabitant’s conduct and reported back. Of twenty observations recorded, eight prognostications proved true, seven false, and five were indeterminate. The ritual is now carried on at Punxsutawney, Pa., where the weather prophet has been named Punxsutawney Phil. (The Oxford Companion to the Year)

By Sydney Beveridge

Every February Second, people across Pennsylvania and the world look to a famous rodent to answer the question—when will spring come?

For over 120 years, Punxsutawney Phil Soweby (Punxsutawney Phil for short) has offered his predictions, based on whether he sees his shadow (more winter) or not (an early spring).

The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place in 1887 and Phil has gone on to star in a blockbuster film, dominate the early February news cycle, and even appear on Oprah. (He also has his own Beanie Baby and his own flower.)

In addition to weather predictions, Phil also loves data, and while people think he is hibernating, he is actually conducting demographic analysis. As a Social Explorer subscriber, he used the site’s mapping and reporting tools to look at the composition of his hometown.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Punxsutawney, PA, located outside of Pittsburgh, is part of Jefferson County. Examining Census data from 1890, Phil learned that the population was 44,405 around the time of his first predictions. While the rest of the nation was becoming more urban, Jefferson County remained more rural with only one eighth of the population living in places with 2,500 people or more (compared to nearly half statewide and more than a third in the US).

Many Jefferson residents worked in the farming industry. Back then, there were 3.2 families for every farm in Jefferson County — higher than the rest of the state with 5.0 families per farm.

Less than three decades after the Civil War, the county (located in a northern state) was 99.9 percent white, which was a little higher than statewide (97.9 percent) and also higher than nationwide 87.8 percent. (The Census also noted that there was one Chinese resident of Jefferson County in 1890.)

Groundhog Day was originally called Candlemas, a day that Germans said the hibernating groundhog took a break from slumbering to check the weather. (According to the Oxford Companion to the Year.) If the creature sees its shadow, and is frightened, winter will hold on and hibernating will continue, but if not, the groundhog will stay awake and spring will come early. Back in 1890, there were 703 Germans living in Jefferson County (representing 1.6 percent of the county population and 11.3 percent of the foreign born), making Germany the fourth most common foreign born place of birth behind England, Scotland, and Austria. Groundhog Day is also said to be Celtic in its roots, so perhaps the 623 Irish residents (representing 1.4 percent of the county population and 10.1 percent of the foreign born) helped to establish the tradition in Pennsylvania.

Looking to today’s numbers, Phil was astonished to learn from the 2010 Census that Jefferson County has just 795 more people than it did 120 years ago. While Jefferson grew by 1.8 percent, the state grew by 141.6 percent and the nation grew by 393.0 percent.

Phil dug deeper. The 2008-10 American Community Survey data reveal that the once-prominent farming industry had shrunk considerably. (Because it is a small group, “agriculture” is now grouped with other industries including forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining.) While Jefferson residents are more likely to work in the industry than other Pennsylvanians, that share represents just 4.4 percent of the employed civilian workforce.

According to the Census, Jefferson is still predominately white (98.3 percent), while the rest of the state and nation have become somewhat more diverse (81.9 percent white in Pennsylvania and 72.4 percent nationwide). Today there are 24 Chinese residents (out of a total of 92 Asian residents).

As Phil rises from his burrow this February second, he will survey the shadows with new insight into his community and audience. To learn more about Punxsutawney Phil’s hometown burrow (and your own borough), please visit our mapping and reporting tools.

Sydney Beveridge is the Media and Content Editor for Social Explorer, where she works on the blog, curriculum materials, how-to-videos, social media outreach, presentations and strategic planning. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A version of this article originally appeared on the Social Explorer blog. You can use Social Explorer’s mapping and reporting tools to investigate dreams, freedoms, and equality further.

Social Explorer is an online research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. The easy-to-use web interface lets users create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change. From research libraries to classrooms to the front page of the New York Times, Social Explorer is helping people engage with society and science.

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The post Burrowing into Punxsutawney Phil’s hometown data appeared first on OUPblog.

Groundhog Day again and again and again (I know it was yesterday, but it is still going on…)

“Here I go again.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69qfXMZoiwA

They keep repeating the same thing every year… http://www.groundhog.org/

and ignore the foremost predictor of our time…

Behold, Puppxsutawney Pupp.

Puppxsutawney Puppi gazes at his golden shadow.

Everybody loves a winter.

And with that prediction, he bids you adieu!  Puppi, Out!

Yawni, the shadow superstar.

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