Groundhogs are rodents and primarily eat healthy vegetables and salad items. They are sociable and "chatter" to those they know in fluent "groundhogese".
Groundhogs in the wild live about nine years.
The GROUNDHOG is also known as a Woodchuck, and Whistle pig as they make an unusual whistling sound. They are stout-bodied mammals of the squirrel family. Groundhogs have black feet, reddish-brown or brown fur with little to no white, except around the mouth. They range in size from 17 to 20 inches long with 4 to 6 inch long tails, and weigh between 4 and 14 pounds.
They are found from the eastern and central United States northward across Canada and into Alaska. They are animals of open fields and woodland edges, where they feed mainly on low green vegetation, and can be extremely harmful to crops. They live on the land, but are good swimmers and climbers. They feed heavily in summer, storing fat for their long winter hibernation.
Groundhogs are excellent diggers, constructing a burrow with a main entrance and an escape tunnel. Groundhogs generally live alone.

The tradition of Groundhog day began in the 18th century. It is said that if the animal sees its shadow on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter. In North American the most famous "groundhogs" are Punxsutawney Phil from the United States and Wiarton's Willie from Canada.

Would you like to meet some other famous groundhogs? I found quite a few.

New York City's official groundhog is called "Pothole Pete."
Manitoba Merv
General Beauregard Lee from Georgia:
Buckeye Chuck from Marion, Ohio.
Dunkirk Dave
Jimmy the Groundhog from Sun Praire Wisconsin.
PeeWee, the Mile Square Farm Woodchuck.
Duke and Duchess from Lums Pond State Park in Bear, Delaware.
Statten Island Chuck.

A German tradition says that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the precursor to Groundhog Day, the hedgehog (or badger) will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow. When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather. The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.