The groundhog, also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.
The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.
It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Groundhog
Groundhogs stand on their hind legs to watch for predators.
Groundhog displaying its incisors
Groundhogs can climb trees to escape predators.
Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks.
Ground squirrel
20,000-year-old Arctic ground squirrel mummy
California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) in a tree
Watchful "rock chuck" or yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) atop Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park in California