Just about every year, we have at least one groundhog who frequents our yard. Most of the time, they munch on clover and weeds in the grass, which is fine. I’m less thrilled when they take the coneflowers down to the ground. The holes to their dens are impressive, and they usually appear on the side of our yard or under a woodpile.

I knew groundhogs are often also called woodchucks, but I was surprised to learn some of their other names: whistlepigs, marmots, groundpigs, land beavers, and thick wood badgers.