When Do Marmots Come Out of Hibernation in Wisconsin
Most people picture Groundhog Day and assume Wisconsin’s marmots stir from sleep in early February — but that folk tradition does not reflect what actually happens underground across the state.
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Most people picture Groundhog Day and assume Wisconsin’s marmots stir from sleep in early February — but that folk tradition does not reflect what actually happens underground across the state.
West Virginia’s rolling hills, open pastures, and woodland edges are home to one of North America’s most fascinating hibernators — the groundhog, or woodchuck, the state’s native marmot.
Vermont winters are long, cold, and unforgiving — and one of the state’s most familiar wild neighbors simply opts out of the whole season.
If you’ve been watching a quiet burrow entrance in your backyard or along a rural fence line, waiting for signs of life, you’re probably wondering when Virginia’s marmots finally shake off winter and get moving again.
Texas is home to an astonishing variety of wildlife — from rattlesnakes in the scrublands to black bears in the mountains — but few animals surprise visitors quite as much as the marmot.
Few signs of spring in Oregon are as satisfying as spotting a plump, golden-bellied marmot perched on a basalt boulder, blinking in the late-winter sun.
Pennsylvania is home to one of North America’s most recognizable marmots — an animal so deeply woven into the state’s identity that an entire national holiday is built around its winter sleep.
Washington’s mountains hold a quiet secret every winter — tucked deep inside earthen burrows, marmots are sleeping through months of cold, snow, and darkness without eating or drinking a single thing.
Ohio may not have towering mountain ranges, but it is home to one of North America’s most fascinating marmot species — and watching it shake off the long winter sleep is one of the quiet joys of early spring in the Buckeye State.
Oklahoma may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of marmots, but the state is home to one native species quietly living out its seasonal rhythms in the eastern woodlands.
If you’ve spotted a stocky, brown animal sunning itself near a fence row or darting across a Tennessee pasture in early spring, you’ve likely crossed paths with the state’s only true marmot.
If you’ve been scanning the edges of a Piedmont field or a brushy farm fence line hoping to spot a chunky, low-to-the-ground animal, you may already be closer to South Carolina’s only marmot than you think.
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but it hosts a surprisingly active cast of wildlife — including one of North America’s most dedicated hibernators.
Utah’s mountains hold a lot of quiet life, and few creatures announce the arrival of spring quite like the yellow-bellied marmot.
Wyoming’s high country holds a quiet signal that spring has truly arrived — a round, furry shape perched atop a boulder, scanning the landscape after months underground.
North Carolina may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of marmots, but the state is home to one of these fascinating hibernators — and its seasonal rhythms are worth knowing.
Most people walk right past a woodchuck burrow without realizing what it is — a tunnel dug by New York’s only native marmot, a true hibernator that spends nearly half the year underground.
If you’ve spent any time outdoors in New Hampshire between late winter and early spring, you may have noticed a stocky, brown animal cautiously poking its head out of the ground near a field edge or stone wall.
Nevada may be famous for its deserts, but climb high enough into the Sierra Nevada, the Ruby Mountains, or the Great Basin ranges, and you will find one of the state’s most endearing mountain residents: the yellow-bellied marmot.
Minnesota winters are long and unforgiving — and the woodchuck knows it better than almost any other animal in the state.