Some call it a marmot. Others prefer the more evocative title, "silbato-cerdo". But for most of us - and certainly for those who turn their eyes towards Punxatawney, PA., in the first week of February of every year - bisojo creature, teeth sharp in the photo above is and always will be, a marmot.
With Groundhog Day on us - when everyone, Punxatawney Phil, most famous Groundhog emerges from its burrow and not see his shadow or not - we think we took a moment to praise the Marmot often maligned and widely misunderstood. For example, away from the soft, doughy loafer of popular myth, the Marmot in the wild is an active animal (a marmot single moves an average of 700 pounds of dirt when digging a burrow); a fierce defender of its own territory; and an expert arbol-escalador - when chased by predators, at least.
Woodchucks also have a charming habit of whistles when alarmed - therefore the nickname of silbato-cerdo - and like to eat. The average Groundhog consumes sufficient grass, grains, fruits, and other non-meat foods that, if he or she was a person of 175 pounds, would be equivalent to eating a salad of 15 pounds. Every day.
We could go and extolling the virtues of the Marmot - and, indeed, reasons why many people, especially the peasants, cannot withstand them - but it is almost time for Phil to make its entry, and not want to lose it. This winter may not end soon for us.
Happy Groundhog Day.
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