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Groundhog
Marmota monax
43.5912, -79.5167
Field Notes
Description:
Dark brown, healthy-looking. The groundhog was undisturbed by our presence, and only midly disturbed by a hawk who thought the groundhog might make for a nice meal (see notes below). Sighting took place between 3pm and 4pm.
Habitat:
This was in an open field in an urban park. This groundhog's foraging patch was flanked by paved trails, a parking lot and a small woodlot.
Notes:
As we watched, a juvenile hawk (I'm not sure of the species) made several attempts to swoop down and grab the groundhog. This plump rodent was clearly too big for the hawk to handle, and the groundhog seemed to know it. The groundhog didn't run away from the attacks; he/she would just look up and if the hawk was actually coming in for a close pass the groundhog would rear up a little to challenge the hawk. The hawk eventually gave up and - after sitting on a fence post to watch the groundhog for awhile - moved on.
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