| Class: | Beast, Realistic |
| Hab: | Grasslands |
| Fre: | Common |
| Num: | 10-10,000 |
| Lair: | 90% |
| Size: | 10-1,000 lbs., by species |
| Move: | Dart as fast as a horse for very short distances |
| Def: | Very quick dodge (larger are slower), thin pelt + thick fat |
| Att: | Bite + dagger-sharp slicing fore-hooves if caught |
| Int: | Simple to clever beast |
| Spec: | Cute vermin |
| Posns: | Tasty |
Groundhogs are burrowing pigs that excavate complex warrens, called groundhog villages or towns. Their fore-trotters are enlarged to form strong spades, but it is the snout and tusks that are their most effective burrowing tools.
Small groundhogs may only be 10 lb., but 50 lb varieties are also common. Larger sorts are rare, but whole "villages" (warrens) of 500 and even 1,000 lb. groundhogs are known.
Aside from the eating of crops and the creation of potholes, such as might turn an ankle, the lesser varieties are fairly innocuous. The larger, however, can have a major impact on the terrain, for their burrows can tunnel quite deep, forming passageways connecting the surface to yet deeper realms.
Groundhog tunnels are very well engineered. They are not simple packed earth; they groundhogs line their main tunnels with a sort of wattle-and-daub construction, very sturdy, with an almost plaster-like finish. Their warrens are complex, full of storage closets, water reservoirs, latrines, nesting chambers, and multiple passageways. Should the population abandon part or all of a complex, it soon becomes a classic "natural dungeon."
Groundhogs are willing to share their tunnels with other animals, forming multi-species colonies; surprises are common. Even carnivores living in a groundhog colony will not molest their hosts; they only eat the competition. Bears and badgers, owls and secretary birds are typical commensal "guardian-tenants."
Groundhogs can quickly turn farmland to wasteland, as they eat crops and their tunneling makes travel dangerous; people and cattle break legs in tunnel rooves. Squires are often assigned to rid the neighborhood of larger groundhogs before they encroach. Farmers trap the smaller ones, but they are quick and can be clever.
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