Editing Groundhog (section)

===Diet===
[[File:Juvenile Groundhog in a Field of Clover.jpg|thumb|Clover is a preferred food source for groundhogs.]]
[[File:20240611 groundhog south meadows wm.webm|thumb|Eating wild vegetation]]
Mostly [[herbivory|herbivorous]], groundhogs eat primarily wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries, bark, leaves, and agricultural crops, when available.<ref name="whitaker">{{cite book|title=Mammals of the Eastern United States|last=Whitaker|first=John O|author2=Hamilton, W J.|year=1998|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=0-8014-3475-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeastern00whit}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Marmota_monax/ | title=Marmota monax (Woodchuck) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> In early spring, [[dandelion]] and [[Tussilago|coltsfoot]] are important groundhog food items. Some additional foods include [[sheep sorrel]], [[timothy-grass]], [[Ranunculus|buttercup]], [[persicaria]], [[agrimony]], red and black [[Raspberry|raspberries]], [[mulberries]], [[buckwheat]], [[Plantain cultivars|plantain]], [[wild lettuce]], [[alfalfa]], and all varieties of [[clover]]. Groundhogs also occasionally eat small animals, such as [[larva|grubs]], [[grasshopper]]s, [[snail]]s, and even bird eggs and baby birds, but are not as [[omnivore|omnivorous]] as many other [[squirrel|Sciuridae]].<ref name="auto"/><ref>Canadian Wildlife Federation, Groundhog</ref>

An adult groundhog can eat more than {{Convert|1|lb|kg|abbr=on}} of vegetation daily.<ref>DNR, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Groundhog</ref> In early June, woodchucks' [[metabolism]] slows, and while their food intake decreases, their weight increases by as much as 100% as they produce fat deposits to sustain them during hibernation and late winter.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Line |first=Les |date=29 January 1997 |title=Woodchucks Are in the Lab, but Their Body Clocks Are Wild |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/28/science/woodchucks-are-in-the-lab-but-their-body-clocks-are-wild.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Instead of storing food, groundhogs stuff themselves to survive the winter without eating.<ref>Discovery Nature Encyclopedia, Groundhog</ref> Thought not to drink water, groundhogs are reported to obtain needed liquids from the juices of edible plants, aided by their sprinkling with rain or dew.<ref name="Schoonmaker"/>{{rp|85}}<ref>The Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington Species Pages Scientific name: Marmota monax Common name: woodchuck.</ref><ref name="Seton1928"/>{{rp|308}}