Wildlife Viewing - With Your Child - Signs of Spring

drawing of family With Your Child

Signs of Spring – But No Groundhogs

When February rolls around each year, children hear about Groundhog Day. Many Floridians wonder: what is a groundhog anyway?

Groundhogs are ground-dwelling rodents, otherwise known as woodchucks, and they don’t live in Florida. The closest ones are found in northern Alabama and Georgia. These large mammals, weighing between 5 and 10 pounds, get their name from their squat appearance, waddling gait and habit of living in the ground. Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2^nd, which is midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. A sign of spring is the emergence of hibernating animals from their winter dens and the groundhog became the symbol of the seasonal change.

Farmers, gardeners and groundskeepers generally dislike groundhogs and their burrowing and plant-eating habits. However, like many of the smaller mammalian burrowers that we have in Florida (shrews, moles and pocket gophers), they do help aerate the soil and bring subsoil to the surface. Additionally, mice and insects, skunks, raccoons, foxes, rabbits and snakes find refuge in groundhog dens.

Next February, take a little time to learn about some of Florida’s mammalian burrowers. You may be surprised at the number and variety found here. A good book to try is: Mammals of Florida, by Larry N. Brown