WOODCHUCK (Marmota monax), a North American rodent, called also ground-hog or American marmot, found from Nova. Scotia to British Columbia and Alaska and in the United States from North Dakota south to Oklahoma and eastward to the Atlantic. It is usually about 20 in. long, brownish or reddish
grey in colour, with a heavy-set body, short tail, and strong claws adapted for digging. The woodchuck lives in burrows in the ground or in piles of rock, feeding upon grass and other vegeta tion. (See GROUND-HOG DAY; MARMOT.)