No, they are distinctly different fossorial (burrowing) rodents. Woodchucks are marmot (Genus marmota) in the squirrel family.
"Gopher" is a somewhat informal term usually referring to pocket gophers, a family of about 35 species, ranging from small rat-sized animals to a large (2 pound) south american species.
Size is the most obvious difference: Woodchucks, in my experience, range from about 5 pounds to almost 10. Also, gophers do a lot of their digging with their teeth (and have highly modified jaws to do so), while marmots dig more with their limbs.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Is A Woodchuck A Gopher?
Date: 2007-04-30 01:57 pm (UTC)No, they are distinctly different fossorial (burrowing) rodents. Woodchucks are marmot (Genus marmota) in the squirrel family.
"Gopher" is a somewhat informal term usually referring to pocket gophers, a family of about 35 species, ranging from small rat-sized animals to a large (2 pound) south american species.
Size is the most obvious difference: Woodchucks, in my experience, range from about 5 pounds to almost 10. Also, gophers do a lot of their digging with their teeth (and have highly modified jaws to do so), while marmots dig more with their limbs.