The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a
woodchuck, whistle-pig, or land-beaver in some areas, is a
rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels
known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots,
live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the groundhog is a lowland creature.
It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and
central United States and Canada. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska,
with their habitat extending southeast to Georgia.
The etymology of the name woodchuck is unrelated to wood
or chucking. It stems from an Algonquian (possibly Narragansett) name for the
animal, wuchak
