I need a little help identifying this little critter

[Digging in the Dirt 3]

I was outside the other day, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught something fairly large run around my neighbors house.  I grabbed my camera and ran to the other side of my neighbors house to find this little guy poking his head out of my neighbors wood pile.

 

I stood by my neighbors gate with my camera at the ready, but as soon as he would poke his head out, he saw me and ducked back into the wood pile.  We played this cat and mouse game for about 20 minutes, and at that point, I think he just decided to take a nap because he stopped poking his head out.  Of course my neighbor is out of town and his fence is locked, so I left him alone for now.

 

This little guy was quite camera shy.  I have an easier time taking a picture of my three year old niece, and let me tell you, that's no small feat to get a picture of her.  This is the best I could do.  The critter is in the center of the picture by the weeds.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dsmith74 16]

That is a woodchuck. Also sometimes known as a groundhog, as well as several other words I can't type in a family-oriented forum. 

 

They're basically a giant squirrel that can tunnel under fences (and buildings, and woodpiles, and porches, and driveways), with the diet and appetite of about 4 rabbits - namely, your favorite plants starting with the most expensive/hardest to replace and working down from there. 

 

Having said that, I kinda like them. 

[Digging in the Dirt 3]

Thanks for the reply Dsmith74.  I went out online and read that groundhogs are active during the day, and are for the most part shy and afraid of people.

 

If that is true, I would have to bet that this groundhog just moved into our neighborhood, and he will probably move out just as fast because of all the activity on my street (I hope).

 

Every morning, he will have to dodge golf balls (my neighbor still believes that he can make the cut of a PGA event), while all throughout the day, avoiding everyone taking walks or walking their dogs, the kids playing everywhere when school is over, and the gardeners and their pets out in their backyards. 

 

However, the groundhog seemed pretty comfortable in the wood pile...

[SunshineOne 0]

Watch these guys, they are amazing diggers.  They dug under our porch and undermined it..  Also they will eat your plants.  I have had them dig up lilies and eat the bulbs.  So you may want to more actively move this one on.  Once they dig a burrow, simply moving them is less helpful since another one will use the abandoned hole.