Good evening curious readers!

Today, as I was pleasantly sitting and observing nature by the Connecticut riverbank, I was startled by something moving in the water down below. I saw a small head and a small part of an animal’s back emerge from the water. At first I thought of a beaver, but as I observed the animal more I realized that it was actually a groundhog because it was smaller than a beaver and had a groundhog’s tail! That discovery made sense because when I first approached my observation spot I saw a groundhog first look round and then scurry down the hill near the riverbank.

After researching groundhogs briefly after my encounter, I found out that groundhogs do indeed swim in order to evade predators or survey their territory for potential food sources! I think the one I saw was looking for food. I am interested in going back to see how many live in that area! So far, I have encountered three different groundhogs (the first three I have seen in my life!) and I look forward to discovering more about their interesting mannerisms! I have a (poor quality, unfortunately) picture of the first groundhog I saw. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the one in the river, but I did find one on the internet that looked exactly like what I saw!

A groundhog by the Dartmouth Cemetery

What the groundhog swimming that I saw looked like http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2010/08/pennsylvania_claws_wings_thing_16.html)

Yay for groundhogs! If they can swim, then maybe they can Kayak too…..I’ll have to do some more observations to find out!

Until next time fellow naturalists!