Rock Chucks are the closest to a Groundhog we have in Southern Idaho
In honor of Groundhogs Day, the Clicky Chicks set out on a mission to find a Rock Chuck, our closest animal to a Groundhog in this area. The little guy we found was warming itself in the sun on this very cold day. Rock Chucks are also known as a Yellow-bellied Marmot, belonging to a large ground squirrel family known as Marmots. Groundhogs are apart of this same family of squirrels, tho they are more widely distributed in Northeastern and Central United States. The Rock Chuck lives in rocky and mountainous areas in the Western United States, and Southwestern Canada. Rock Chucks are omnivorous living mainly off of grass, leaves, flowers, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs. From what we could tell this Rock Chuck didn't see it's shadow either, so we are hopeful that spring is right around the corner.