Baby Groundhog or Marmot 6" H

5858, MARMOT - BABY 6''H from Hansa Creations U.S.A.  Step into the serene beauty of nature with HANSA Creation USA's Realistic Woodland and Prairie Animal Collection. Our skilled artisans have thoughtfully crafted a captivating array of animals native to woodlands and prairies, from the graceful deer and clever foxes to the majestic bears and playful raccoons. 

The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a lowland rodent of North America. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. These adorable animals play an important role maintaining healthy soil in woodland and plain areas. They are considered crucial habitat engineers. Groundhogs are also extremely intelligent animals forming complex social networks, able to understand social behavior, form kinship with their young, understand and communicate threats through whistling, and work cooperatively to solve tasks such as burrowing..

Groundhogs are one of the most well-known animal diggers in the world. They are much bigger than their relatives, such as chipmunks and squirrels. Double layers of fur keep them warm and waterproof, enabling them to cope in the cold and wick away moisture after being in the water. Their tails are shorter than that of other sciurids - only about one-fourth of body length. Male groundhogs average slightly larger than females and, like all marmots, they are considerably heavier during autumn (when engaged in autumn hyperphagia) than when emerging from hibernation in spring.

Groundhogs have a wide distribution in North America, especially in the east, being found from Georgia and Alabama in the United States to Ontario and northern Quebec. In the west, they go northward to Alaska and through the Northwest Territories and southern Yukon. Groundhogs like to be in open areas like fields, open forests, clearings, and rocky slopes. They usually dig their burrows where short-growing plants such as luxuriant grasses provide food for them and tend to avoid damp, swampy areas.

• A groundhog baby is called a "pup", a "kit" or even a "cub"
• Baby groundhogs are raised by their mother
• A newborn groundhog is less than 4 inches long
• Groundhog babies are born completely helpless
• Groundhogs and woodchucks are just different names for the same animal

• The groundhog is also known as a chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk, land beaver, and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux.
• Although usually asocial, these animals sometimes greet each other by touching noses.
• When outside their burrows, groundhogs stay alert when not feeding actively. Often one or more nearly-motionless individuals will be standing upright on their hind feet, looking out for danger. They have a high-pitched whistle to use when alarmed to warn others in the colony.
• Groundhogs are skilled swimmers and climbers, which helps them escape less-skilled predators.
• Groundhog burrows are very complex and each one has a "bathroom" chamber.
• In central Ohio, groundhog burrows uncovered a historic village - now known as a famous archeological site.
• Groundhogs have a reputation for predicting spring. According to legend, if on February 2nd they come out of their burrows, spring will come early.
• Is the groundhog correct in predicting spring? This is debated by many people. Some say they are 75%-90% correct while others say 35%.
• Groundhogs can shift over 700 pounds (317.5 kg) of soil while digging one den or burrow.
• As a large rodent, the groundhog’s close relatives include chipmunks, squirrels, and prairie dogs.

Product Dimension: 3.15(L) X 2.76(W) X 5.91(H)

HANSA CREATION, INC. Collection is HANSA CREATION's hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. It takes great pride in each enchanting work of soft sculpture art, carefully designed to educate, fascinate, captivate and inspire creative play for collectors of all ages.

Artists create each HANSA animal from portraits of the creature in its natural habitat appropriately called Hansa Creation Portrait's in Nature. It is HANSA's uncompromising integrity in design and quality standards that has charmed collectors for generations and continues to mesmerize new collectors of all ages.