We are enjoying some beautiful weather this weekend, and with that comes lots of activity in the neighborhood. Our little buddies are still trying to figure us out, but they're getting used to the fact that we aren't going away AND best of all, we bring lots of goodies like peanuts. Ooooh they can't resist peanuts. (They have exquisite taste.) My husband threw a few peanuts toward their hole (with camera in hand, of course) and while they didn't quite dare to come too far out, they put up with him long enough to grab a snack.
Mmmmm do I smell a peanut?
Ooooh yes I do!
I'm ready for more...
Yes,
ReplyDeleteWe have a female groundhog which, along with a litter of five other cubs, was born on our property two years ago. She is probably full grown now. We thought she might have her own cubs this year, but a companion groundhog (which was most likely male), departed from the summer burrow in early May, 2009, and there have been no cubs.
We have found that following the birth of cubs in April or early May, the male immediately departs from the summer burrow and the mother is tasked with rearing and training the cubs, which can be a demanding and arduous chore. For example, the cubs tend to wander into potentially dangerous places until they are about six weeks old.
We had our female groundhog in the late spring of 2008, along with a male, for about thirty days. Our female did not produce any cubs, and the male departed in late April on his own. We have discovered that groundhogs are basically solitary animals, except when mating is occurring.
Indeed, it is now early August, 2009, and our female groundhog has not appeared for over three days to eat its twice-a-day feeding of cut carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. She has previously disappeared for three days or so during the summer, brief absences for which there is not an obvious explanation: she could be resting in the burrow, or might have wandered away for a time.
Indeed, our female groundhog absolutely loves whole, raw peanuts in the shell. She will typically eat them on the spot, excising them from the shell with her incisor teeth, and ingest the peanuts. We are somewhat concerned about her absence now since she and other groundhogs usually relocate to winter burrows in the middle or late August -- it seems that August 29th has been the latest date on which we have seen them still in the yard, but the relocation has occurred as early as August 15th. At this time of year, we are concerned that she eat as much as possible each day to store weight and fat for hibernation.
Max L.