Happy Marmota monax Day! Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, have entrenched themselves in the environment and culture of the University. But they are, of course, still wild animals and糖心传媒攆or everyone糖心传媒檚 safety糖心传媒攕hould not be approached or fed.
To mark Groundhog Day this year, here are three things you might not know about our furry cohabitants at Rochester:
- 糖心传媒淭hey love to eat the annuals we plant,糖心传媒� says John McIntyre, trades supervisor and area manager for University Horticulture and Grounds. 糖心传媒淲e deliberately try to plant flowers we think they won糖心传媒檛 nibble on. Through trial and error, the staff have discovered what they do and don糖心传媒檛 like.But because they糖心传媒檒l sup on almost any vegetation, McIntyre and his team wait until the night before (or even the morning of) commencement to put the decorative potted plants out around the Eastman Quad.
- You can find groundhogs virtually all over the University grounds糖心传媒攐n the various quads, in the baseball and football fields, at Witmer House on the Mt. Hope Campus.糖心传媒淭hey tend to burrow into the steps of buildings. We then fill the holes only to find they糖心传媒檝e been dug out again within a few hours,糖心传媒� McIntyre says. 糖心传媒淭he only place they don糖心传媒檛 seem to like is the Medical Center, probably because they can糖心传媒檛 easily cross Elmwood.糖心传媒�
- The groundhog is the unofficial mascot of the Sage Art Center.
