Woodchucks, beavers confusable cousins

#Middlebury #Woodchucks #Beavers

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

This woodchuck resembles its beaver relative, (see below). (Paul J. Fusco/ CT DEEP Wildlife photo)

The woodchuck, also known as a groundhog, is the largest member of the squirrel family. It also is related to the beaver. People sometimes confuse these two large rodents with each other.

First, a bit about woodchucks. They became more common here after settlers arrived and cleared forests, providing more of their preferred open, grassy habitat. They like farm pastures, meadows, suburban yards and the grassy areas along highways; that last being where I see them most frequently.

Their diets are fully vegetarian, and can include grasses and clover, fruit, small plants, the leaves, buds, twigs and bark of trees … as well as anything you might plant in your garden. They eat heavily in the summer as they are true hibernators and go without eating all winter.

Measuring 17-24 inches and weighing about 13 pounds, woodchucks have a stocky build and slightly flattened, but bushy tails. They look rather bear-like when they stand on their hindquarters, and have strong, long claws that enable them to dig their burrows. Those burrows – which hopefully are not in or under your garden, can be two to six feet deep and up to 20 feet long, depending on the soil. They live alone, stay safe from predators by maintaining at least two entrances, and are tidy creatures with separate sleeping and toilet areas.

Their impressive teeth can grow up to 1/16” in a week during warm months – the better to keep up with their busy munching schedule. Fun facts: they can climb trees and swim. While cute and cuddly looking, they should never be approached or handled as they can be quite fierce and protective when provoked.

The beaver is much larger than the woodchuck and has a flat, wide hairless tail. (Paul J. Fusco/ CT DEEP Wildlife photo)

Like woodchucks, beavers are native to America, but unlike the woodchuck, they did not benefit from European colonization. Beavers have been heavily hunted for their thick waterproof pelts, and by the mid 1800s were eliminated from Connecticut. Some restoration began in 1914, and their numbers have grown since then. But that did not end the troubles for – and with – beavers. Rather than being admired for their prodigious engineering skills, they are often trapped and moved or killed when their human neighbors don’t agree with the beavers’ water plans and dams.

Beavers also are much bigger than woodchucks. Adults can weigh between 30 and 65 pounds and be 24 to 36 inches in length – plus their long tail. The tail is a very distinguishing feature: it is 12-18 inches long, wide, flat, and hairless. The tail is more likely heard than seen when the beaver gives the tail a hard whack on the water before diving.

Their webbed feet have short claws and leave easily identified tracks along muddy stream banks. They may, like woodchucks, eat some grasses and twigs, roots and bark of trees, but unlike the woodchuck can take the entire tree with them. They are particularly fond of aspen, willow, birch, ash, alder and maple.

Beavers may be seen in a grassy area but are semi-aquatic. They can be found in streams, lakes and ponds, and build their homes (lodges) in or alongside those waterways. Fun facts: beavers mate for life, and produce castoreum oil in scent glands located near the base of the tail, which has been used – thankfully only in the past – in the making of perfumes.

The work of both woodchucks and beavers creates habitat for other animals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. But both can create problems while doing just that. Homeowners are rarely pleased with their work. If either causes a problem, there are tips for management on the CT DEEP website (portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets), or a professional can be called. But hopefully we can coexist together by using strategies like fencing around special trees or gardens, and recognizing that changes in the environment over time are a natural process.

You can contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com; visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Happy hiking!