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There was a considerable amount of interest last month as to whether a particular resident of Punxsutawney, Pa., would see his shadow as he emerged from his residence. His verdict would forecast how much longer we would be enduring the grips of winter weather. (Phil, of course, is a groundhog, Marmota monax - the digger marmot - if you want to get scientific about it, or woodchuck, or whistle pig.)

Northeast Iowa is heaven as far as woodchucks are concerned. There are plenty of limestone outcroppings with natural crevasses or small timbers bordered by open land to call home. His nice, human neighbor folks plant gardens full of peas, beans, and corn or fields of alfalfa and clover for dinner (they don’t chuck wood) and, for the most part, people around here don’t bother them too much.

This is about the time of year that woodchucks will start emerging from their winter dens. Every year we receive several calls from people trying to describe this critter that was either invading their ripening gardens, digging under the tool shed or back porch, or just acting dopey in the back yard. The beast is described as either a large dark squirrel or a small beaver with a furry tail. He seems to be a bit of a mystery to a lot of people.

The woodchuck is a medium sized member of the squirrel family, about two feet long and eight to twelve pounds in weight, with short, powerful legs and a bushy and somewhat flattened tail. They have a broad head, conspicuous incisor teeth (which grow continuously), moderately sized eyes, and small rounded ears which can be closed at will to cover the ear opening during excavating operations. The color is generally dark grizzled brown with the head being darker brown on top. The name “groundhog” comes from the little guy’s squat appearance and waddling run. The woodchuck’s most important role is as a builder of homes for other animals, although some predators do like to make a meal out of young groundhogs. Foxes, skunks, coyotes, and rabbits will all modify a woodchuck burrow for their own uses. The main entrance to a woodchuck condominium is about a foot in diameter with a front porch of a conspicuous pile of dirt and stones beneath a rock or tree stump. After about ten feet, the tunnel leads to either an enlarged leaf and grass lined nest chamber or to passageways leading to blind tunnels, food storage compartments, lavatories, or several side entrances. These side entrances are usually small and well concealed.

Just before hibernation (which is what our friend Phil was doing until the Punxsutawney city fathers woke him up) the nest is walled off with dirt and the woodchuck enters a torpid state with slow breathing and a body temperature of between 43 and 57 degrees. Groundhogs may rarely come out their burrows during winter if the weather warms up, but they are usually deep in hibernation from the end of October until warmer weather in late February or March.

Woodchuck hunting is probably more popular in New England than here, but we do have an open season for hunting or trapping which runs from June 15 through Oct. 31 each year in Iowa. A hunting or fur harvester license is required. Landowners are allowed to take groundhogs without a license on their own land and in road ditches adjacent to their property.

It’s doubtful that a lot of people have much faith in Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction on Feb. 2, but the legend does give this oft-neglected animal one day of glory.

As David Kline puts it in his book Scratching the Woodchuck: “It would be more accurate to say that if the groundhog sees its shadow, winter will last another six weeks, whereas if the day is overcast and it doesn’t see its shadow, winter will be over by mid-March!”