If you’ve ever wondered what groundhogs do during the winter, you may have wondered how they survive the coldest months. Groundhogs are very small mammals, only a foot or two long and weighing about fourteen pounds. They begin hibernating during the fall and feed heavily during this time. They will eat up to a pound of food each day, making their burrows deep and lined with grass and twigs. They will emerge from the burrows during uncommon warm spells and look for growth of plants.
While some people think that groundhogs emerge from their burrows to predict the weather, the animals don’t actually see shadows. They emerge from hibernation when spring is near. This event brings farmers a season of discontent. During the winter, they slow down their metabolism and appetite, which triggers the emergence of spring. Once spring arrives, groundhogs reactivate their metabolism and appetite and start looking for food. Although groundhog predictions have only been accurate 50 percent of the time, they’re still a tradition.
As humans, groundhogs are not active at night. Their active time is at dawn and dusk, then they go back to their burrows for the night. Groundhogs are diurnal animals, meaning they sleep during the day. If they were to emerge from their dens at night, they could be attacked by predators, eaten by humans, or become trapped in unusable burrows. However, their nighttime activity is not entirely for sleeping or hibernation, as they also have biological tasks to perform.
The process of hibernation is very different than that of a sleeping person. Groundhogs will not wake up during the winter months – their body temperature will remain at a healthy 98 degrees Fahrenheit. During this time, they will feed off the fat layer they’ve built up during the summer and fall. A groundhog can survive for up to five months, depending on the temperature, but only if the weather is warm enough.
Despite the high demand for their annual appearance, it’s important to remember that groundhogs have many other uses besides weather prediction. In fact, groundhogs have been responsible for the discovery of two major archaeological sites. In Ohio, they unearthed artifacts from the Ufferman Site, a Native American village. In Pennsylvania, a groundhog was instrumental in identifying the 19,000-year-old Meadowcroft Rockshelter site, the oldest human remains in the Americas.
After hibernation for 90 days, male groundhogs begin trolling for female “hotties” in early February. They will spend two or three nights together with like-minded females. Once spring approaches, they will resume their normal sleeping patterns in their burrows. Despite their lack of a good weather prediction, groundhogs still enjoy the novelty of being the star of a movie. In the spring, they’ll begin mating again, albeit for shorter durations.
When they’re active, groundhogs rarely venture more than 50 feet from their burrows. They eat a variety of plant and weed materials, including seeds, berries, grains, and nuts. Additionally, they also eat insects and small animals, and may even climb trees in order to access growing fruit. While they’re not active during the winter, groundhogs use the fat they’ve stored over the summer to survive the harsh months.
How do groundhogs survive winter?
Groundhogs are deep hibernators, according to the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). They chow down before the chill, building up body fat, then enter winter burrows, lower their heart rates, and stop nearly all movement to make it through the cold, fallow months.
What do groundhogs eat during the winter?
A groundhog’s diet can include fruit, plants, tree bark and grasses. They are known for damaging crops and gardens and many consider them pests. Groundhogs don’t eat during hibernation. They use fat that they built up over the summer and winter month.F
What are 5 things groundhogs eat?
– Greens like lettuce, alfalfa, clovers, dandelions, daisies, red mulberry and hackberry leaves. – Trees (specifically bark and twigs) like black cherry and dogwood. – Vegetation like carrots, celery, corn, peas, and beans. – Fruits like berries, cherries and apples. – Insects like June bugs, snails and grasshoppers.
How do groundhogs get their food?
They forage through gardens in the mornings and late afternoons during the summer. But what do groundhogs eat during the winter? They don’t. Instead, they build up fat reserves during the year to sustain them during their hibernation period from October to February.
Do groundhogs store food for the winter?
Groundhogs also store food in their dens, especially for consumption during the winter. Groundhogs are very fat in the autumn, just prior to hibernation. If they are living in a colony, groundhogs snuggle in family groups to conserve heat during the winter.
What do groundhogs hate the most?
Lavender and other plants with strong odors can keep groundhogs away. Groundhogs dislike the smell of herbs such as mint, sage, basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, and oregano.
Where do groundhogs live in the winter?
underground burrows
Do groundhogs store food?
Groundhogs are herbivorous animals, eating the foliage, stems, roots, and tubers of herbaceous plants, and sometimes the buds, leaves, flowers, and young shoots of woody species. Groundhogs also store food in their dens, especially for consumption during the winter.
What attracts groundhogs to your property?
Groundhogs are especially attracted to sweet fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, peaches, or corn. They also love lettuce, cucumber, and green beans. Place the bait all the way inside the trap so that the groundhog has to enter the trap fully.F
