I got some of them. Didn't what they were.

I guess woodchuck and groundhog are the same thing. They are actually in the squirrel family! Maybe that's why the squirrel was trying to figure her/him out. They run fast when they hear a noise.
I had set a haveaheart trap for her and used broccoli for the bait. This morning, the trap had been sprung, but there was still some broccoli inside the empty cage. She pushed and shoved that cage and even turned it over. I guess she really wanted to get the broccoli. Nancy

OMG!!! And she brought a side-kick! Or a look-out! And I thought I was having problems with my rabbits!

Good picture! Thanks for sharing that. I haven't seen one in our yard yet, but not far from us. They are so huge it's unbelievable.

So that's what they are! We have tons of those up in here in the mountains. I thought they were some kind of beaver with deformed tails because I always see them by the creek. Hubby and I had taken to calling them "Those big brown things". Now we will know how to address them properly :o)

actually you have to chant the woodchuck tongue teaser 3x fast- you know- 'how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? '

i'm thankful i haven't seen one around here. you can have her. up nawth we called them groundhogs. they can have nasty tempers, are quite destructive and please watch out for and find their burrow. many a kid or adult has broken a leg stepping into one of those unawares. our shepherd dog growing up, sam, loved to chase them til one day one of them got him by the tongue. he bore a nice triangular scar in the middle of his tongue from that day forward. and i don't think he messed with them anymore- certainly didn't get as close!!

actually, if you live near a creek it may be a muskrat. They look a lot like small beavers without the flat tail. But there are lots of woodchucks in the mountains too.

I googled muskrat pictures to see what they look like. It is hard to tell the difference between that pic and this pic of April. Says that muskrats have webbed back feet, but I am not inclined to ask them to turn around and show me their tootsies.

Here is a link that might be useful: muskrat not as cute as April

muskrats aren't usually as big as groundhogs. theer are groundhogs in this area- they just aren't common (thank goodness!) they can put a nasty dent in a car and have a bad habit of hanging out right beside roads, waiting to get hit. well, ok- they're eating stuff, but all the same.

I don't think April is a muskrat, since her home is not in the creek, but up in the yard under the shrubs. There is a large opening into her home and we think she also has a second entrance at the other end of the shrubs. She can run swiftly, when she hears us make a noise. I'll ask her to show me her back feet. Nancy