2015 Photos

A GROUNDHOG FAMILY; HEIDI, LUKE, AND THEIR OFFSPRING

Heidi arrived on our property in 2014. Mate to Luke Groundwalker in 2015, Heidi gave birth to seven babies. She brought them above ground on May 23rd and they began to explore the world outside their birth den.

As we’ve observed with other mated pairs on our property, the relationship between Heidi and Luke continued after the mating season which is contrary to most reports of mated groundhogs. An exception would be a study of the social organization of Ohio woodchucks which differs from other published woodchuck studies.

Additional to Luke and Heidi, another adult chuck named Raggedy was observed infrequently since March. Raggedy, thought to be a male, has a deformed right foot. In July, interactions between Raggedy and Heidi and Luke’s offspring were captured on video.