Woodchucks

Geesh, being an older mom who has never really worked (outside the home being paid:P" ) makes it kinda hard to come by a job! LOL So, starting this blog out, that is what I have been thinking about lately. . We need to increase our income, and I don't really know what to do. I have a lot of hopes for the future, & getting my nature center going, but without $$$ none of that can happen. So,. . . my husband is working on getting a 2nd job - PT a few hours a week before his other job. I am looking into getting a job during the day, early hours. So, I guess we'll see what happens.

Anyhow, on to my post. Since I had mentioned getting my licensing for Chuckie & all that, I figured I would talk about woodchucks a little bit. I'll also put a link to his page on my website, and my woodchuck page. If you visit the website, please take a moment to sign our guestbook, and also the site rater after you have review my site. I work hard on it & totally admit, I am proud of it!! LOL You'll find the site rater at the bottom of THIS page. THANK YOU:)

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Woodchucks. . .

Woodchucks are a large member of the Squirrel (Scuridae) family. They are relatives of marmots, and are also called "groundhogs" or "whistle pigs". They do make an interesting variety of sounds, including a very sharp, high pitched whistle when scared/alarmed.

Woodchucks are herbivores. Only on rare occassion do they eat things like, snails, insects or bird eggs. They eat vegetative parts of plants.

Woodchucks, like other rodents, have continuously growing incisors. My woodchuck, has a problem with his upper incisors. They do not grow correctly & have been trimmed down twice before I took possession of him. The bottom 2 grow well, and since the upper incisors are not there, have to be trimmed routinely. They are also avid diggers (& also have very long nails), making a complicated tunnel system underground. They are true hibernators and they have a burrow they will den in over winter. They seal the hole into the hibernation den. Other animals will sometimes use parts of their tunnels to den in.

Woodchucks are a pretty large-sized rodent. They can weigh approximately 4-14lbs, and can be approximately 16-27" in length.

Woodchucks have 4 fingers on the front hands, with long, thick claws. They use these for digging, and occassionally, climbing. They have 5 clawed toes on their back feet. This is just like squirrel hands/feet. Also like squirrels, woodchucks can pick food up in their hands & eat. They stand on their hind legs often, and they do this to watch for predators. When a predator is seen, they will run to a tunnel entrance to hide below ground until the threat passes.

Woodchucks only live 5-6 years in the wild. As I am sure you have seen too, many meet demise from automobiles. Although they can get "running" pretty fast, they can't get away from those cars quite quick enough. The oldest wild woodchuck record is 6yrs.

I am not sure yet on how their vision is, although it appears to be pretty decent. I do get the sense that their sense of smell is very good. All the time Chuckie is sniffing the air deeply - audibly - especially if he is taken into an area that he hasn't been to before.

We are really accustomed to seeing woodchucks on the ground, grazing, or standing up on those hindlegs. However, they can also climb trees. And since they are avid diggers, caging has to be careful constructed for Chuckie. So that he can't dig out, or climb over!

Like most animals, woodchucks also go through an annual molt. It starts about early May and will continue through September. Their molt begins at the tail & moves forward.

An unsual thing I discovered about woodchucks is that they do not develop the yellowish-orange pigment to their teeth like other rodents - such as squirrels, porcupines, rats, etc. From what I have read too, malocclusion is quite common in woodchucks. And, as a side note on that, last week, we had come across a woodchuck that had apparently been hit by a car. "His" bottom teeth were incredibly long! I was surprised that he was still going at that point - he must have been eating a lot of soft food items, or something - not using those bottom incisors much. He's a bit snaggle-tooth looking & I don't think it was related to the accident (but what do I know for sure? I don't - I didn't really study the corpse much, just briefly looked. But I did take a photo & you can see it on Chuckie's pic slideshow on his page - if interested in seeing the teeth).

Woodchucks posses scent glands and have the ability to emit a musky odored secretion.

They can eat 1-1&1/2 lbs of food in a day.

Woodchucks have many natural predators that can include large hawks & owls, wolves, coyotes, and smaller ones may be eaten by various snakes. Of course, as with nearly all animals, humans play a large part in woodchuck death, whether accidentally with a vehicle, or intentionally due to killing an animal they see as a nusiance.

There are ways to get rid of nusiance animals without killing them. It does take a bit longer, and usually involves doing some things on your part, however, taking the effort to EXCLUDE the animal keeps another from moving in when you just kill it instead. In addition to that, in many areas it is NOT legal to "just kill" an animal because it is a nusiance. On top of that, you usually can not kill them yourself. You need to contact a Nusiance Wildlife Control Officer. Many times, for a consultation fee, they will come out & assess your problem & give you an estimate to the charge of taking care of the animal - whether exclusion or extermination is needed. Good NWCO's will help to fix the problem the best they can, so that it doesn't occur again. Not all things are foolproof of course:}

Please note: I am a strong advocate for humane treatment of any/all animals to the best that is absolutely possible.

Always be careful if you come upon an animal that is trapped, or cornered in any way. These animals will often bite/lash out to protect themselves. This is perfectly normal behavior! However, there is ALWAYS the possibility the animal could have a disease or rabies, or whatever. Never touch a wild animal with bare hands.


Although they may be seen as a nusiance animal, woodchucks are also a great asset to the economy. They areate the ground, and they also fertilize it. They influence the types of plants that grow in the area and their abundance by eating them. They can be helpful in controlling plant growth. They also provide food for larger predators of the area (& in turn may help keep them out of your yard and/or garbage!). They are actually used in sport hunting, which I DO NOT ADVOCATE at all, for any animal. I believe in hunting for a purpose, but not for plain sport & enjoyment of killing something.

**** Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is stuff I reasearched. I am not a biologist, scientist, veterinarian, doctor, or any other thing besides a rehabilitator that collects info for my own purposes. This article may contain errors, but as best as possible, I tried to provide factual information.

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