Can
you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
February 10, 2021.
And
the answer is....
This photo of a freshly dug groundhog burrow was taken on February 8, and on the same day we saw a groundhog out walking around in the snow near that burrow!
In a recent Facebook post we said that Lutherlyn’s groundhogs are currently still hibernating, but clearly that’s not totally true! Although groundhogs don't fully emerge from hibernation until March, there is some activity before that in February, and the how and why of it is fascinating.
Throughout a groundhog’s period of hibernation, there are regular times when the animal partially awakens. These brief awake periods are called arousal, and they happen about every 5-6 days all winter. During arousal groundhogs’ metabolism speeds back up closer to normal for about a day and half, then they go back into full hibernation, which is called torpor. It is thought that the arousal periods give the animals a chance to eliminate waste and re-balance their cellular chemistry, and maybe even sleep in ways that are more refreshing to the brain than torpor. During these arousal periods the groundhogs stay in their burrows.
In early February, when male groundhogs emerge into an
arousal period, they also emerge from their burrows. After emerging, they visit
nearby burrows of female groundhogs within their territory. The female
groundhogs are also awake, and may or may not emerge from their burrows at this
time. Then, both go back to their burrows for some more hibernation time before
they fully emerge in early March.
Mating does not happen during this pre-emergence arousal
from hibernation, but it is an important part of the mating process. It is similar to a courtship period. Groundhogs must mate very soon after emerging
fully from hibernation, so that their young have the best chance of survival.
If they mate earlier, the babies will be born before there is enough food for
them to eat. If they mate too late, the babies won’t have enough time to grow
enough to fully prepare for their own first hibernation. So, the
visiting-the-burrow time allows male and female groundhogs to get
familiar enough with each other during the hibernation period to be ready to
mate soon after they fully emerge from hibernation. The groundhog we saw near a
freshly dug out burrow was probably a male, and the muddy tracks it left in the
snow were his paths to the nearby burrows of female groundhogs.
Knowing about this brief emergence in February also helps explain some of the idea of Groundhog Day. Groundhogs, the males anyhow, really do emerge from their burrows, look around for awhile, and head back into their burrows to hibernate some more.
Groundhogs are one of the most common animals we see at Lutherlyn in the warmer months, to the point of sometimes being a nuisance. It is fascinating to be reminded that these very common animals have an intricate life cycle that allows them to best survive in their environment. Keep an eye out for groundhogs roaming in the snow in the next week or so, and about a month from now you will start seeing them emerge from hibernation for good.
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on
Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when
they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/ps-mgh012403.php
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