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undhog prefers open country and the edges of woodland, and is rarely far from a burrow entrance. Marmota monax has a wide geographic range. It is typically found in low-elevation forests, small woodlots, fields, pastures and hedgerows. It constructs dens in well-drained soil, and most have summer and winter dens. Human activity has increased food access and abundance, allowing M. monax to thrive. Survival Groundhogs can climb trees to escape predators. In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years with two or three being average. In captivity, groundhogs reportedly live up to 14 years. Human development, which often produces openings juxtaposed with second growth trees that are incidentally also favored by groundhogs, often ensures that groundhogs in well-developed areas are nearly free of predators, beyond humans (through various forms of pest control or roadkills) or mid-to-large sized dogs. Wild predators of adult groundhogs in most of
eastern North America include coyotes, badgers, bobcats and foxes (largely only red fox). Many of these predators are successful stealth stalkers so can catch groundhogs by surprise before the large rodents can escape to their burrows; badgers likely hunt them by digging them out from their burrows. Coyotes in particular are sizable enough to overpower any groundhog, with the latter being the third most significant prey species per a statewide study in Pennsylvania. Large predators such as gray wolf and eastern cougar are basically extirpated in the east but still may hunt groundhogs on occasion in Canada. Golden eagles can also prey on adult groundhogs, but seldom occur in the same range or in the same habitats as this marmot. Likewise, great horned owls can reportedly, per Bent (1938), prey upon groundhogs, but this owl rarely does so, especially given the temporal differences in their behaviors. Young groundhogs (usually those less than a couple months in age) may also be taken
by an American mink, perhaps other smallish mustelids, cats, timber rattlesnakes and hawks. Red-tailed hawks can take groundhogs at least of up to the size of yearling juveniles, and northe
