Marmota monax
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.
It was given its scientific name as Mus monax by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, based on a description of the animal by George Edwards, published in 1743. The groundhog, being a lowland animal, is exceptional among marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas. Groundhogs are considered one of the most solitary of marmot species. They live in aggregations, and their social organization and long-term pair bonds varies across populations. The groundhog's male and female interactions are usually limited to the mating season and copulation. However, certain populations of groundhogs have been observed to form long-term adult male-female association throughout the year, and often from year to year.
The groundhog is an important contributor to the maintenance of healthy soil in woodlands and plains; as such, the species is considered a crucial habitat engineer. The groundhog is an extremely intelligent animal, forming complex social networks and kinship with its young; it is capable of understanding social behavior, communicating threats through whistling, and working cooperatively to accomplish tasks such as burrowing. Wikipedia →
Recording0:39
United States · 2026
© wolfwoman51 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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United States · 2026
© Erin O'Connor · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Canada · 2024
© Tiarelle · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Shubenacadie Wildlife Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Bear Country USA | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Nasu Animal Kingdom | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | West Virginia State Wildlife Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Edmonton Valley Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Hogle Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Little Rock Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Elmwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Tierpark Limbach-Oberfrohna | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Oceanium | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 16 | Fawn Doe Rosa Wildlife Educational Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Montreal Biodome | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Woodchuck sighting in Detroit on a given day, based on 95 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 15 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Woodchuck in Detroit on a given day, against under 5% in February and December, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Woodchuck sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Woodchuck sightings, Detroit ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Montreal (Canada, about 50%) and Philadelphia (United States, about 30%).
Same family: Sciuridae
The closest relatives of the Woodchuck that you can see in Detroit (family Sciuridae, Squirrels) are Eastern Gray Squirrel (about 60%), Fox Squirrel (about 30%) and Eastern Chipmunk (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Woodchuck is recorded against all the mammals logged in Detroit (95 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
