What in the world is the difference, if any, between a Ground Hog and a Woodchuck?

Question

I'm from Boston, and in the middle of the city, crossing the steet (jay walking against the lights) last week I saw an animal I've never seen before. It was short, fat, wide, and was brown like a beaver and it had a short furry brown tail. Quite cute, and it look lost as can be. What was it I saw?

Update:

Yeah, thanks. It was a Woodchuck/Ground Hog I saw crossing the street heading toward the Charles River Esplanade. WOW. But what was it doing here???

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

Groundhog & woodchuck are common names for the same animal, Marmota monax. (1)

However, what you saw in Boston may have been a muskrat (2) or a nutria (3).

Source(s): 1. http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/96/2.1.96/fa... 2. http://www.holoweb.com/cannon/muskrat.htm 3. http://www.nutria.com/site.php

Answer 2

Muskrat Vs Nutria

Source(s): https://shrink.im/a0SrQ

Answer 3

Ground hogs live in the East and Prairie Dogs live in the desert

Answer 4

I'd guess that what you saw was a muskrat, especially since it was heading toward the river.

The difference between a groundhog and a woodchuck is that the groundhog is unable to chuck wood.

Answer 5

Groundhog and woodchuck are the same.

All woodchucks I know are shy though - they run with side fat undulating when you approach too closely.

They like garden vegetables and when they eat all vegetables they start destroy other plants, like hosta. I'm not surprized that Debunker has such strong feelings

Answer 6

Two common names for the same species.

While nutria and muskrats are NOT exclusively southern, they have long, scaly tails, not short furry ones.

Answer 7

NONE

Just nicknames for the same rodent vermin.

NOT "keeeeeeeee-oot".

NOT "lost".

Destructive pest!

NOT nutria OR muskrat-nutria are SOUTHERN & both are SWAMP dwellers ...with LONG NAKED TAILS

Answer 8

He had a purpose. Why didn't you ask? We are also interested