Unlike many rodents, the woodchucks do not lay up stores of food for winter. As summer draws to an end they feed heavily and become excessively fat. On the approach of cold weather they become more and more sluggish, appearing above ground with decreasing frequency until from the end of September to the first of November, according to locality, they retire to their burrows and begin the long hibernating sleep which continues until the approach of spring. [Illustration: MOUNTAIN-BEAVER _Aplodontia rufa phaea_] [Illustration: COMMON WOODCHUCK, or AMERICAN MARMOT _Marmota monax_] [Illustration: HOARY MARMOT, or WHISTLER _Marmota caligata_] Some time between February and April, according to latitude, they come forth to resume their seasonal activities. In the northern parts of their range they usually come out several weeks before the snow disappears and may be tracked in it as they wander about searching for food or a new location. The prominence of the groundhog as a popular figure in the country lore of the Eastern States is shown by his having been given a place with the Saints on the calendar, February 2 being widely known as “Groundhog Day.” It is claimed that on this date the groundhog wakes from his long winter sleep and appears at the mouth of his burrow to look about and survey the weather. If the sun shines so that he can see his shadow, bad weather is indicated and he retires to resume his sleep for another six weeks. Otherwise, the winter is broken and mild weather is predicted. Even on the outskirts of Washington some of the countrymen still appraise the character of the coming spring by the weather on “Groundhog Day.” =THE HOARY MARMOT, OR WHISTLER= (=Marmota caligata= and its relatives) (_For illustration, see page 535_) The whistler is the largest and handsomest of the American marmots. It is similar in proportions to the common woodchuck, but averages nearly twice its weight. Its fur, far thicker and of a better quality, might have a value in the fur trade if enough of the skins were available. As it is, the skins are used only for robes and sometimes for clothing by the Indians. The distribution of this characteristic animal of the northern Rocky Mountains and outlying ranges extends from the Endicott Mountains, fronting the Arctic coast of Alaska, and the peninsula of Alaska, southeasterly to the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho, Mount Rainier, the Olympics of Washington, and Vancouver Island. In the North its range extends from above timber-line down over hare slopes and through glacial valleys to the sea-level along the southern coast of Alaska. To the southward it is limited wholly to the higher elevations, usually above timber-line. Owing to variations in climatic conditions and to isolation in different parts of its range, several geographic races of the whistler have been developed. In the mountains to the southward of its range other marmots occur as far as New Mexico and California.