Canku Ota - July 17, 2004 - Badger, Coyote and the Woodchucks

	Canku Ota
	(Many Paths)
	An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America
	July 17, 2004 - Issue 117


	Badger, Coyote and the Woodchucks
	by Shoshoni Legend

Badger lived alone in his camp. He had lived there a long time. On a hill close by his home were some rocks. In these rocks were the houses of many Woodchucks (Yaha).

Badger thought, "These must be very good to eat. I am going to try them." He sharpened a big stick on both edges; he had some kind of knife. Then he climbed up to the Yaha holes in the rocks. He found a flat place below the entrance to the houses and lay down there with his stick close beside him.

He thought, "I will sing a song and pretend I am singing in my sleep."

He started singing: He sang this song two or three times. Then he sat up and looked up to the rocks where the Woodchucks had their homes. A few had come out to look when he started singing. He thought "Maybe more will come out." He lay down again and continued singing. He thought, "I'll sing once more. Then I'll look again."

He sang the song twice more and then cautiously looked up. Many Woodchucks had come out to listen to him.

They said, "Who is that singing? We will go down and see who is singing."

Badger lay still with his head on the ground, and continued to sing.

The Woodchucks said, "He has a very short tail." "What is that singing?" "His legs are very short, too." "Come and see whatthis is!"

Finally, many had come down to see Badger.

Badger kept singing all the time. He didn't move at all. He kept his head down on the ground. He kept on singing. He held his stick down with his hand.

The Woodchucks called up to those who remained on the rocks, "Come down and see what this is!" "He has very short ears." "It is hard to see his eyes. They are very small. He has a
white spot on his nose."

Badger continued singing all the time.

When all the Woodchucks were around him, watching him, Badger thought, "Now I have enough. I will knock them down with my stick." He jumped up quickly and began knocking the Woodchucks on the head with his sharp stick. He killed many of them. Only a few escaped, and ran back to their homes in the rocks. Badger thought, "I have plenty. I have enough."

He carried them on his back down to his camp and skinned then. They were very fat and good to eat. He dried the meat and made jerky of it. While he was skinning them he thought, "I have a lot of meat. These will be good to eat when they are dry."

When his meat was nearly all used up, Coyote came to see Badger.

Badger had just made a stew of his meat. When it was cooked he gave Coyote some.

Coyote said, "That is very good." He ate more; it tasted good. Coyote asked Badger,
"What kind of meat is in that stew?"

Badger answered, "That is not meat. I just pick them out of the rocks. They have a place up there. That is where I get them."

Coyote said, "I am going to try to get some. How do you do it? Do you shoot them, or what?"

Badger explained, "You just knock them down with a stick."

Coyote said, "I'll bet I can catch more than you did. What kind of stick did you use?"

Badger said, "Any kind of stick will do. It doesn't matter."

Coyote said, "I am going to try it myself. I am going to lie up there, too."

Coyote made a stick for himself and then asked Badger, "What do you say to them while you are lying there?"

Badger told him, "I sang a song, that is all."

Coyote asked, "What kind of song? Can you give me the same song?"

Badger gave him the song and Coyote practiced it. His voice was deep and hoarse and ugly. After he had practiced until he knew it, he went up to the rocks He looked around for a place to lie. He saw the holes of the Woodchucks and what he thought was a good place near them.

Coyote lay on his back. He started to sing Badger's song. It sounded bad. He only sang it once and then raised his head to look at the holes. There were no Woodchucks in sight. He sang once more and then looked again. No Woodchucks had come out. He thought, "I have been too impatient about looking up there."

He sang the song two or three times and then looked.

Some little Woodchucks had come out in front of their holes. They looked down to where Coyote lay.

They said to the others, "Come out and look at this. It is a long one." Some of them went down to see better. They said, "This is a long one. What is it? It has a long tail."

They called to the others to come and look. More of the Woodchucks came down. Coyote had not stopped singing.

They said, "He has a very sharp nose." "His ears are pretty long." More Woodchucks came out to look.

Coyote thought, "I have plenty," but he wanted more to come down. He kept on singing.

The Woodchucks said, "We will touch him with our hands to see how that fur feels." They gathered around Coyote and put their hands on him to feel the fur.

This tickled Coyote and he began to laugh. He frightened the Woodchucks and they all ran away. Coyote jumped up, grasped his stick and tried to hit them, but he missed every one. They were too far away. He didn't get one.

Coyote said, "I will try once more." He lay down again in the same place. He started to sing again. He sang the song twice and looked up. There was not one Woodchuck outside his hole. Coyote continued singing. He thought they would come out again. He sang the song five or six times, but no one came out to bear it. He thought he had better stop. He got up and went to Badger's place. Badger saw that he had no meat. Coyote told Badger that the Woodchucks were too wild and had all gotten away.

Badger said, "Yes?"

Coyote went home.

Print and Color Your Own Woodchuck
Woodchuck

Woodchuck (Marmota monax)

The woodchuck, or groundhog is a member of the Squirrel Family. The woodchuck, which inhabits most of North America, in the South is more familiarly known as a groundhog. Its common name, woodchuck, is an anglicized corruption of an Indian name for this species. The origin of its other name, groundhog, is obvious from the animal's squat appearance, waddling gait and habit of living in the ground.

Description. Among North American rodents, only beavers and porcupines are larger than the marmots. Woodchucks are stocky little animals with a flattened head. They commonly weigh 2 to 4 kg, and large ones may be heavier in the autumn. They measure 40 to 65 cm total length, including a short bushy tail about 15 cm long. Fur colour varies from place to place and between individual animals. It ranges from yellowish to dark reddish brown, with an intermediate brown colour being the most common shade. The fur is usually grizzled in appearance because of light-coloured tips on the hairs. The belly fur is commonly straw-coloured and the feet black.

Woodchucks are occasionally found with melanistic or albino fur. The fur of melanistic specimens is completely black. Albinos, on the other hand, have no colour in their fur at all, and even their eyes lack pigmentation, merely showing a pinkish tinge from blood vessels near the surface. Being white, they are conspicuous, and usually fall easily to predators.

Because woodchucks are burrowing mammals, their feet have sturdy claws and their legs are thick and strong. Their forefeet, the principal ones used for digging, each have four well developed claws, and the hind feet have five. They escape from enemies by diving into burrows, which may account for the fact that their top running speed does not exceed 15 km per hour.

Distribution and abundance. When North America was first settled, woodchucks were relatively scarce, but as timbered areas were opened and woodland edge, fence rows and meadows increased, the chuck's range expanded and the animals prospered.

Habitat and home. Woodchucks prefer to live along the edges where timbered areas are bordered by open land or along fence rows and heavily vegetated gullies or stream banks. Here they dig their burrows. The main entrance is often located beneath a tree stump or rock and is usually conspicuous because of a pile of freshly excavated earth and stones. Side entrances are smaller and better concealed. The tunnels lead to an enlarged chamber, 3-6 feet (.9-1.8 m) underground, which contains the nest.

Habits. When not hibernating or caring for young, woodchucks spend much of their time eating and sunning. They love to stretch out on warm ground, a smooth rock or along a low branch of a convenient tree. Their tree climbing ability is limited, however, and infrequently used.

In preparation for their long winter sleep, or hibernation, woodchucks grow enormously fat towards the end of the summer. They begin hibernation with the onset of freezing weather, the adults before the young ones, who probably need extra time to put on sufficient fat to see them through the winter. The first adults to hibernate disappear late in September, and all woodchucks are underground in October.

By the end of October, most woodchucks are curled up in a profound sleep in their underground nest. So deep is this sleep that even if an animal is warmed up, it requires several hours to awaken. Woodchucks usually hibernate all winter, although during periods of mild weather, some individuals may awaken.

In some areas, emergence from hibernation begins as early as the first week of February, but severe cold weather may delay this. As the daily temperatures rise and plant growth increases, the chucks spend more and more time above ground.

In digging, the front feet and claws are used primarily, but the teeth may be employed to move stones or cut roots. The amount of subsoil removed in the course of digging one burrow averages 716 pounds (325 kg). Digging is done so rapidly that a small burrow can be finished in one day, though upkeep is continued as long as the burrow is occupied.

Foods. The woodchuck is almost a complete vegetarian, eating leaves, flowers and soft stems of various grasses, of field crops such as clover and alfalfa, and of many kinds of wild herbs. Certain garden crops like peas, beans and corn are favorites. Chucks occasionally climb trees to obtain apples and pawpaws which they relish.

Reproduction. The breeding season begins in mid-February soon after the animals emerge from hibernation. Pregnancy lasts 31-33 days and the the single, annual litter is born toward the end of March. At birth, the two to nine young are naked, blind and helpless. They measure about four inches (101 mm) long. The eyes open when the young are about 4 weeks old; although the kits come to the opening of the burrow at this time, they seldom venture outside until 6 or 7 weeks old. By midsummer, the young are 20 inches (508 mm) long and weigh about four pounds (1.8 kg). About this time, they may dig temporary burrows near the nursery which they use for a short period. Later, they move some distance away and establish their own homes.

Importance. Woodchucks formerly were trapped for their fur, which was used for cheap fur coats. The flesh of young and lean animals is good food.

The role of the woodchuck as a builder of homes for other animals is significant; because of this, the woodchuck occupies an important niche in the wildlife community. Skunks, foxes, weasels, opossums and rabbits all use woodchuck burrows for their dens. Also, because tremendous quantities of subsoil are moved in the course of burrow construction, the countless generations of woodchucks have contributed much to the aeration and mixing of the soil. Woodchucks are one of the few large mammals abroad in daylight, and many people get enjoyment from seeing them.

The woodchuck's taste for truck garden and agricultural crops often places it in an unfavorable position with farmers. Sometimes chucks burrow into levees and create erosion problems.







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