Groundhogs turn up in 6,202 New York records, fifth among the state’s mammals, and the map is unmistakably farm country. Ulster, Tompkins, and Monroe counties lead the list, with the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, and Genesee Valley supplying the mix of open ground and cover the species demands.
An engineer of the field edge
A groundhog burrow is serious excavation, a system of tunnels with multiple entrances, a nest chamber, and a dedicated toilet chamber, dug into a bank where the animal can graze within a quick sprint of safety. Clover, grasses, and garden crops make up its summer diet, and a feeding groundhog can put away a remarkable share of a hayfield. Abandoned burrows do not stay empty long. Foxes, skunks, and rabbits move in, making the groundhog one of the more consequential diggers in the state.
Five months underground
The year’s records tell the hibernation story plainly. Sightings climb in March, run strong from April through June, and collapse after October, with January and February together accounting for barely one percent of the total. This is a true hibernator, not a light sleeper. Body temperature and heart rate drop dramatically for months at a stretch, and the animal lives entirely off the fat it built while mowing those fields.
Status in New York
NatureServe ranks the groundhog S5, Secure, and the species is native across New York. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous in the state.
