Thanks to Mrs. Johansens' fifth grade class in New Hope, Minnesota we have a special Groundhog's Day report for you. Also here--the first Challenge Question of the season:
CHALLENGE QUESTION #1 Does the groundhog REALLY come out on February 2?
To answer, please follow the instructions at the end of this message.
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From: Eileen Johansen's Class New Hope Elementary School Minneapolis, Minnesota ejohan@metro2.k12.mn.us
A wintry hello to all of our Journey North friends from New Hope Elementary, New Hope, Minnesota. We are students in Mrs. Johansen's fifth grade class, and we would like to share some information with you about the groundhog.
We worked in small groups to do this groundhog report for you. First,
however, we must tell you we can't imagine any groundhog in Minnesota
wanting to come out of a snug, warm burrow. It's between 15 and 20
degrees F. below zero here!
Groundhogs are found in Canada, and also in the Eastern and Midwestern
parts of the United States. Groundhogs are also called woodchucks. The
groundhog belongs to the squirrel family. Groundhogs are about 2 feet long,
with a bushy tail. They weigh about 10 pounds. The groundhog has gray,
coarse fur on its upper parts and yellowish-orange fur on its underparts.
The groundhog is a warm-blooded mammal. It has a keen sense of hearing and
a mouth with 22 teeth. The groundhog also has a keen sense of smell.
Groundhogs might choose a field, valley, mountain slope, plain or wooded area for a home. Groundhogs live below the ground. They create their burrows by digging with their sharp claws on their front feet. They use their hind feet to scrape the dirt out of the burrow. Their burrow has several compartments or chambers. The shaft going down to the compartments may be over 30 feet deep. The compartments have grass and leaves to keep the groundhog snug and warm in the winter. The groundhog also has more than one exit from the burrow.
Groundhogs eat alfalfa, clover, and vegetable crops. When the woodchuck goes out of the burrow to look for food, it will first sit up on its hind legs at the entrance of the burrow to listen and look for signs of danger. Groundhogs eat a lot of food in the fall to build up a layer of fat to help them live during the winter months. Groundhogs are considered to be pests by farmers because they eat crops.
Groundhogs or woodchucks have their babies in the spring. The babies are called cubs. After they are born, they stay alive by drinking their mother's milk. The babies can't hunt for food right away because they are born blind and without fur. After the babies can see, they begin to eat tender, young grass and they are allowed to go outside of the burrow. The young woodchucks leave the burrow in mid-summer to start their own families.
Groundhogs hibernate during the cold winter months. In Minnesota, most groundhogs probably start hibernating during October. When you don't move around, you need less energy. This is how the woodchuck survives the winter. The body temperature of the woodchuck may fall as low as 30 degrees F., from a normal temperature of 100 degrees F. during hibernation. Everything is slower, their pulse and breathing rates drop, also. Hibernating groundhogs may breathe only once every six minutes, which is 200 times slower than its normal rate. The heartbeat of a woodchuck slows down from 75 to 4 beats per minute. The woodchuck is able to survive using the layer of fat it has built up from eating large amounts of food in the early fall.
Groundhog Day is based on a custom that people brought from Germany and England, when they came to our country. People believed animals could help forecast the weather. According to the legend, on February 2, the groundhog will come out of the burrow. If the sun is shining and the groundhog sees its shadow, and then goes back in the burrow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If the day is cloudy and the groundhog doesn't see its shadow on February 2, it will stay above ground and spring will come early.
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is known for Groundhog Day. Each year on February 2, people from Punxsutawney wait to see what the groundhog will do. Will the groundhog stay above ground or will it go back into the burrow? The official groundhog forecast of Punxsutawney is then announced throughout the United States. Will the groundhog come out and stay, or will it go back into its burrow? We are tired of ice, snow and our very cold weather. We wish the groundhogs could check the Internet so they would know it is time to stay out of their burrows so we can have an early spring.
We will be watching for the arrival of spring by using Journey North, and we would enjoy hearing from you. Please write to us!
Mrs. Johanson & Class ejohan@metro2.k12.mn.us
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Challenge Question #1: Does the groundhog REALLY come out on February 2?
Call a local nature center and ask the naturalist when groundhogs first appear each spring where you live. If you discover that groundhogs don't live in your region, tell us why!
How to Respond to a Challenge Question:
Follow these steps carefully!
1) Send an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2) In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #1
3) Tell us when groundhogs come out of hibernation where you live!
4) Watch for groundhog news from other students later this spring.
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