Some processes, such as digestion, continue during hibernation. This means that every few weeks the groundhog needs to take a bathroom break, and no, this is not how Groundhog Day got started.

As food supplies become scarce in the colder months, groundhogs burrow away as a mode of survival. But how do their bodies react to the harsh winter temperatures while they sleep? Groundhogs are ...

In late summer and early fall, groundhogs start chowing down even more vigorously to prepare themselves for hibernation, when a groundhog will lose up to 30 percent of its body weight.

Hibernation helps survival In my study area in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average date groundhogs emerge from their burrows is February 4. This fits the folklore and the timing of Groundhog Day.

Hibernation helps survival In my study area in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average date groundhogs emerge from their burrows is February 4. This fits the folklore and the timing of Groundhog Day.

Hibernation helps survival In my study area in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average date groundhogs emerge from their burrows is February 4. This fits the folklore and the timing of Groundhog Day.

While groundhogs do come out of hibernation around February, it has less to do with predicting the weather and more to do with looking for a mate.

Hibernation helps survival In my study area in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average date groundhogs emerge from their burrows is February 4. This fits the folklore and the timing of Groundhog Day.

Groundhogs are one of the few mammals that do hibernate. In late summer and early fall, groundhogs start chowing down even more vigorously to prepare themselves for hibernation, when a groundhog ...