Groundhog Decorative Cushion

Groundhog Taken 05.25.2014 A Groundhog - He was alert to my presence and stayed motionless like this for quite some time while I snapped pics of him. Stillwater, Maine The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or land-beaver in some areas, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States and Canada. Groundhogs are well adapted for digging, with short but powerful limbs and curved, thick claws. Unlike other sciurids, the groundhog's spine is curved, more like that of a mole, and the tail is comparably shorter as well — only about one-fourth of body length. Suited to their temperate habitat, groundhogs are covered with two coats of fur: a dense grey undercoat and a longer coat of banded guard hairs that gives the groundhog its distinctive "frosted" appearance. Source: Wikipedia