Many people believe on February 2, which is Groundhog Day, the groundhog wakes up, comes out of it’s burrow, and if it’s shadow appears, it goes back to sleep, because winter is going to last six more weeks. If no shadow appears, this means spring is coming early.
But that is not the true story. According to some professional zoologists, when male groundhogs wake up from their burrows, they don’t check the weather. Instead they are looking for females that are in their territory.
Here is how groundhogs hibernate. Once fattened up, groundhogs go into their burrows and begin a deep sleep called hibernation. However, before they go into hibernation, they wall themselves in, to protect themselves from predators. As they sleep, they take one breath of air and don’t breathe again for six minutes. Their body temperatures can drop from 99 degrees to as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Their heart rate slows from about 80 beats to only 4 beats per minute. And when spring comes, they crawl out of their burrows and start eating again. Storing up more fat for the next hibernation.
Groundhogs belong to what is called the squirrel family. They are mainly vegetarians mostly feeding on grass, but will also eat fruit and flowers. Occasionally, they will also eat snails insects, grubs, and grasshoppers. Like most squirrel-like rodents, they are great diggers. The front claws work like shovels, while the back ones push out loose dirt. Groundhogs are found in Eastern and North Western parts of North America. They live mostly in grassy fields, and sometimes right in your own backyard. Groundhogs are good climbers, but not as good as the squirrel’s climbing skills.
All these amazing things had to have been placed within the groundhog, by a glorious, powerful, and Sovereign creator. Whose name is Jesus Christ.
Happy Groundhogs Day!
“Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.” Genesis 8:19
