Science Snippet: The Many Names of the Marmota Monax

Groundhog. Public domain.

Anyone seen a land-beaver recently? How about a whistle-pig? These are among the names assigned to Marmota monax, known around Door County as a woodchuck or groundhog. These mammals emit a high-pitched whistle as a warning to others, earning them the whistle-pig moniker. The name “woodchuck” is derived from the Algonquian name for these common herbivores, wuchak. Here are some other facts about woodchucks. Although they spend most of their time on or under the ground, they can climb trees. They greet each other with a variation of the Eskimo kiss, where one touches his or her nose to the mouth of the other. Woodchucks are never a problem from November to February, for they are hibernating. They are strict vegetarians, and their diet may include grasses, weeds, clover, fruits, vegetables (like the ones you grow in your vegetable garden) and ornamental plants (like the ones you grow in your flower gardens). To get rid of nuisance woodchucks, trap them and move them out of your neighborhood. Unfortunately, in a year or so, others may take their place. A humane way to encourage them to move is by pouring used kitty litter down the hole to their burrows. Cover the hole lightly with soil and hope for the best. (Goldman, J., 2012, in Scientific American Blog Network, July 25, 2016; Meier, P., 1992, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. 31, issue 6; humanesociety.org/animals/woodchucks_groundhogs/tips/solving_problems_woodchucks.html)