February 2nd: Groundhog Day!

It's groundhog day. No, I haven't done this one before! It's also marmot day, a marmot being virtually the same thing as a groundhog. As I look out of my window and see grey skies and rain, I can't help but be encouraged that at least Spring should arrive on time no matter what else may be wrong with the world. 

Here are some facts about groundhogs and groundhog day:

1. The Latin name for a groundhog is Marmota monax and is part of the marmot family - so marmots and groundhogs are very closely related if not the same thing. They are also sometimes called woodchucks, which has nothing to do with chucking wood but derives from wuchak, a Native American word for the animal.
2. Another common name for groundhogs is whistlepig. This comes from the high pitched warning sound individuals make to warn others there is a predator coming.
3. The collective noun for a group of groundhogs is a repetition.
4. They can swim and climb trees, but they are especially good at digging. They have curved spines like moles do. Groundhogs dig large burrows with up to 14 metres (46 ft) of tunnels buried up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) underground including a separate chamber to use as a toilet. Baby groundhogs practice digging their own little rooms inside the burrows. Their burrows usually have more than one entrance, to allow them to escape from predators.
5. People view groundhogs as pests, fearing their burrows undermine the land and that farm machinery or even buildings will disappear into big holes. However, the burrowing rodents can, in some circumstances, help us. In Ohio, there is an archaeological site which, although humans have never excavated it, has yielded a lot of artifacts - because the groundhogs dig them up.
6. Groundhogs hibernate in winter. How long they hibernate for depends on the climate. In warmer areas it can be for as little as three months, and as much as six months in colder places. When they are hibernating a groundhog's heart rate slows from about 80 beats per minute to 5. Breathing slows from around 16 breaths per minute to as few as 2. This lower metabolism helps them conserve most of its body weight so they still have some reserves when they wake up to carry them through to the time when food becomes abundant again.
7. Groundhogs are one of only two other species on the planet which gets infected with a hepatitis B type virus - don't worry, though, their Viruses are sufficiently different from the ones humans get that there's no chance of catching Hep B from a groundhog. What it does mean is that they are used in medical research to find out the effects Hep B has on the liver. The only other creature to suffer from a similar disease is the endangered chimpanzee. Groundhogs are by no means a threatened species, so they get used for these studies.
8. Their front teeth never stop growing. They grow about a sixteenth of an inch each week. The length of their teeth is usually kept in check by gnawing on vegetation, and if they don't eat enough, they risk impaling their mouths which is very nasty.
9. They have sleepovers. Males will emerge from their burrows earlier than females, usually in early February and will go on a recce through their territory to see how many females have made their burrows within it. When they find one, they'll go in and spend a night with her. I know what you're thinking - but researchers have found there's no actual nookie going on when they do this. It seems to be about getting to know the females a bit so that when they all wake up in March, they don't have to waste time getting to know each other before breeding.
10. It's probably this habit of male groundhogs which gave rise to Groundhog Day on 2nd February. Groundhog Day is about predicting the weather and the premise is that if the groundhog emerging from his burrow on this day sees his shadow (ie if the sun is shining) rather than meaning spring has arrived it means six more weeks of winter. If there's no sunshine, spring is just around the corner. Communities give names to their weather-predicting groundhogs. The most famous is Punxsutawney Phil, but there are others, including Wiarton Willie, Jimmy the Groundhog, Smith Lake Jake, Staten Island Chuck and and General Beauregard Lee. According to myth, in Punxsutawney it's always the same groundhog they are seeing - a magical punch has made Phil virtually immortal. 

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