Kentucky’s occurrence data hold 591 records of the groundhog, nearly all from iNaturalist, making it one of the most frequently recorded mammals this atlas tracks in the state. That volume reflects how often people run into a groundhog at a woodland edge, not a precise count of how many are out there.
At home from Bluegrass pasture to Cumberland Plateau hillsides
Groundhogs need open ground next to cover, and Kentucky supplies that combination almost everywhere. Reports come from pasture edges and hedgerows through the Bluegrass region, hillside clearings and roadcuts around Cumberland Falls State Resort Park and Daniel Boone National Forest on the Appalachian Plateau, and the sinkhole meadows near Mammoth Cave National Park in the Pennyroyal. A groundhog just needs enough dirt to dig a burrow and enough green growth nearby to eat.
A record that goes quiet in January
Kentucky’s monthly counts fall to zero in January before climbing fast through spring, peaking in May and June. That pattern lines up with true hibernation: groundhogs sleep through the coldest stretch of winter in an underground chamber, then emerge together as the ground warms, exactly when this record picks back up.
Status in Kentucky
The groundhog is native to Kentucky and isn’t flagged as nonindigenous by USGS NAS. NatureServe ranks it S5, secure, matching a species recorded across nearly every part of the state.
