Groundhog
Marmota monax (Linnaeus, 1758)
The groundhog (Marmota monax), also called the Woodchuck or Whistle-pig, is a rodent in the family Sciuridae, subfamily Xerinae and tribe Marmotini. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and diurnal herbivore, with an adult body mass of 3.8 kg and reported values from 3.4 to 4.2 kg.
Quick facts about the groundhog
Groundhogs have 1 litter per year after a gestation period of 32 days, with 4.5 young per litter, and reach sexual maturity at 1.5 years. Its lifespan is 11.3 years, with values up to 14 years, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 3.41 kg – 4.17 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 11.3 years – 14 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 30 days – 32.4 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the groundhog
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the groundhog live?
Not recorded
What is the groundhog?
The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.
A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.
It was given its scientific name as Mus monax by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, based on a description of the animal by George Edwards, published in 1743.
The groundhog, being a lowland animal, is exceptional among marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas. Groundhogs are considered one of the most solitary of marmot species. They live in aggregations, and their social organization and long-term pair bonds varies across populations. The groundhog's male and female interactions are usually limited to the mating season and copulation. However, certain populations of groundhogs have been observed to form long-term adult male-female association throughout the year, and often from year to year.
The groundhog is an important contributor to the maintenance of healthy soil in woodlands and plains; as such, the species is considered a crucial habitat engineer. The groundhog is an extremely intelligent animal, forming complex social networks and kinship with its young; it is capable of understanding social behavior, communicating threats through whistling, and working cooperatively to accomplish tasks such as burrowing.
From the Wikipedia article “Groundhog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groundhog&oldid=1384609531), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the groundhog sound like?
Is the groundhog endangered?
The groundhog is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the groundhog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familySciuridae
- genusMarmota
- SpeciesMarmota monax (Linnaeus, 1758)
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Canada marmotEnglish
- Ground-hogEnglish
- Thickwood badgerEnglish
- Whistle-pigEnglish
- Wood-chuckEnglish
- Wood-shockEnglish
- WoodchuckEnglish
- WoodchuckEnglish
- Woodchuck (gopher)English
- جرذ الأرضArabic
- Meşə marmotuAzerbaijani
- Moregan ar c'hoadoùBreton
- TéhtǫˀCayuga
- ᎣᎦᎾCherokee
- ᐧᐄᓂᔥᒄCherokee
- SéavóneškeCheyenne
- svišť lesníCzech
- SkovmurmeldyrDanish
- WaldmurmeltierGerman
- Καναδική ΜαρμόταGreek
- marmota canadienseSpanish
- MetsümisejaEstonian
- metsämurmeliFinnish
- SiffleuxFrench
- marmotte communeFrench
- cladhaichearScottish Gaelic
- מרמיטה צפון אמריקאיתHebrew
- מרמיטה צפון-אמריקאיתHebrew
- erdei mormotaHungarian
- ՄացառախոզArmenian
- Marmot tanahIndonesian
- Marmotta monacaItalian
- Marmotta americanaItalian
- ウッドチャックJapanese
- Miškinis švilpikasLithuanian
- mnumkwejMi'kmaw
- AnonhwaráweronMohawk
- Dlǫ́ʼátsohNavajo
- SkogmurmeldyrNorwegian Bokmål
- BosmarmotDutch
- akakojiishiOjibwa
- GrundsauPennsylvania German
- ŚwiszczPolish
- Świstak amerykańskiPolish
- Marmota-comumPortuguese
- Лесной сурокRussian
- Téhdo:ö’Seneca
- skogsmurmeldjurSwedish
- Kuzey Amerika MarmotuTurkish
- Бабак лісовийUkrainian
- 美洲旱獺Chinese
Relatives of the groundhog
Other species in the same genus Marmota.
Alpine marmot
Marmota marmota
Bobak marmot
Marmota bobak
Himalayan marmot
Marmota himalayana
Siberian marmot
Marmota sibirica
Rockchuck
Marmota flaviventris
Gray marmot
Marmota baibacina
CompareGroundhog vs Alpine marmotGroundhog vs Bobak marmotGroundhog vs Himalayan marmotGroundhog vs Siberian marmot
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a groundhog?
The groundhog is a mammal, a rodent in the family Sciuridae and genus Marmota. It is also called the Woodchuck, Wood-shock or Whistle-pig.
How heavy is a groundhog?
An adult Groundhog weighs 3.8 kg, with reported values from 3.4 to 4.2 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
What does a groundhog eat?
The groundhog is a herbivore. It is a terrestrial, diurnal animal.
Is the groundhog endangered?
No. The IUCN lists the groundhog as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
How long does a groundhog live?
The groundhog has a lifespan of 11.3 years, with values up to 14 years reported.
How many young does a groundhog have?
A groundhog has 4.5 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 32 days.
When does a groundhog reach maturity?
A groundhog reaches sexual maturity at 1.5 years (545 days).
Who named the groundhog?
The scientific name Marmota monax is credited to (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Groundhog (Marmota monax). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/groundhog
“Groundhog (Marmota monax).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/groundhog.
@misc{groundhog_2026,
title = {Groundhog (Marmota monax)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/groundhog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}