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Facts about Groundhogs Other Than Their Poor Meteorology

February 2: the day each year when we look toward an oversized rodent¹ to find out how much more winter we’ll endure. In honor of the occasion, here’s seven things you might not have known about the groundhog.

2月2日:每年的这一天，我们都会观察一只体型巨大的啮齿动物，看看我们还需忍受多少寒冬。为了纪念这一时刻，这里有7件关于土拨鼠你可能不知道的事情。

1. The groundhog’s scientific name is Marmota monax, making it one of 14 types of marmot that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere. Marmots are members of the Sciuridae family, which makes the groundhog just a really big ground squirrel.

1.土拨鼠的学名是Marmota monax，是北半球14种土拨鼠之一。土拨鼠属于土拨鼠科，土拨鼠是一种非常大的地松鼠。

2. As just noted², groundhogs are a type of marmot. So you can accurately³ say, “Hey, the marmot saw its shadow.” You could also refer to them as woodchucks, whistle-pigs or land beavers⁴, depending on where you’re from. The name whistle-pig comes from the high-pitched whistle that groundhogs emit to warn the rest of a colony about danger. And contrary to what you might think, the name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood. It’s derived⁵ from the Algonquian name for the animal, wuchak. A big enough groundhog could nevertheless chuck some wood.

2.如前所述，土拨鼠是鼠类的一种。所以你可以准确地说，“嘿，土拨鼠看到它的影子了。”你也可以称它们为土拨鼠、吹口哨的猪或河狸，这取决于你来自哪里。“口哨猪”这个名字来自于土拨鼠发出的尖锐的口哨声，这种声音是用来警告其他的土拨鼠群体有危险。与你所想的相反，土拨鼠这个名字与木头毫无关系。它来自于阿尔冈琴语对这种动物的称呼——“wuchak”。一只足够大的土拨鼠也能扔木头。

3. Male and female groundhogs tend to occupy the same territories, year after year. Females generally keep to themselves, with only around a 10 percent overlap⁶ during the late spring, as they try to expand their home ranges. Males also tend to avoid other males, but they have much larger home ranges. Their territories can overlap with as many as three females’ territories.

3.雄性土拨鼠和雌性土拨鼠往往年复一年地占据相同的领地。雌性一般都独来独往，在晚春的时候只有10%会重合，因为它们想要扩大自己的活动范围。雄性也倾向于避开其他雄性，但它们的活动范围要大得多。它们的领地可以与多达三个雌性的领地重叠。

4. Infant groundhogs are usually born around mid-April. And after just two or three months, they’re ready to set off on their own. But around a third of juvenile⁷ females stay at home for nearly a year, right up until Mom gives birth to the next litter of babies. While Dad has his own burrow⁸ elsewhere, he visits each of his mates’ burrows⁹ every day until the infants disperse¹⁰.

4.土拨鼠通常在四月中旬左右出生。两三个月后，它们就准备好自己出发了。但是大约有三分之一的雌性幼崽会在家里呆上将近一年，直到妈妈生下一窝幼崽。虽然爸爸在其他地方有自己的洞穴，但它每天都会去每个伙伴的洞穴，直到孩子们散去。

5. Groundhogs salute¹¹ each other with a unique greeting. Groundhog number one approaches and touches his or her nose to the mouth of groundhog number two. Scientists call this behavior “naso-oral contact.”

5.土拨鼠以独特的方式互相问候。土拨鼠1号走近并把它的鼻子接触到土拨鼠2号的嘴巴。科学家称这种行为为“鼻口接触”。

6. The animals might be called groundhogs, but they are quite adept¹² at climbing trees. So next time you’re in groundhog territory, look up!

6.这些动物可能被称为土拨鼠，但它们非常擅长爬树。所以下次你在土拨鼠领地的时候，先抬头看看!

7. When it comes to accurately predicting the weather, the famous Punxsutawney Phil has been correct only around 36 percent of the time since 1969. That’s according to an analysis by meteorologists from Weather Underground. You’d have a higher rate of accuracy by simply flipping¹⁴ a coin. But nobody’s gonna come to Punxsutawney to watch a coin flip¹³.

7.著名的土拨鼠费尔在准确预测天气方面，自1969年以来的准确率只有36%。这是根据来自《地下气象》的气象学家的分析得出的。人们只要简单地抛一枚硬币，就会有更高的准确率。但没人会找费尔看硬币翻转。