It’s February 2nd, and people are celebrating Groundhog Day! Famous groundhogs, such as Punxsutawney Phil and Buckeye Chuck, are woken up from their winter sleep. Will they see their shadows? Will spring come early, or will there be six more weeks of winter? Punxsutawney Phil is right less than half the time.
Whether you call it a groundhog, a woodchuck, or a whistle-pig, groundhogs live throughout the eastern United States and Canada. You may have seen one along the edge of a field or even in a garden! Groundhogs dig burrows (a hole in the ground that animals live in) that they use all year to raise young and sleep.
During winter, from about November to late February or March, groundhogs hibernate (spend the winter sleeping in a den or burrow). In winter, temperatures are below freezing, and the ground is covered in snow. There is less food for animals in winter. Hibernation helps animals survive these conditions.
During hibernation, an animal’s metabolism (processes that turn food into energy) slows down, and its heart rate slows down. A groundhog’s heart rate can go from 80 beats per minute to as low as 5 beats per minute. Body temperature also decreases during hibernation. A groundhog’s normal body temperature is around 99°F. When hibernating, a groundhog’s body temperature can decrease to 37°F; that’s almost freezing!
During hibernation, groundhogs sleep. Their slow metabolism keeps them from losing too much weight. When they start hibernation, they may weigh up to 14 pounds and when they come out of their burrows in the spring, they weigh about 8 to 10 pounds.
Groundhogs are omnivores. Most of their diet is grass and tree leaves and bark. They also eat flowers, berries, and sometimes insects, eggs, and small birds. In the spring and summer, they eat lots of food and gain back the weight they lost. They reproduce (to carry out the process that produces new organisms) and raise their young. By November, they are ready to hibernate again.
What Do You Think? What other animals are less active during winter?
Photo Credit: (t)Brian E Kushner/Shutterstock, (b)Vincent Alvino/Shutterstock
