# Beaver? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413 "2010-05-05T15:34:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rockypg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rockypg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockypg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/1 "2010-05-05T15:34:24Z")
can someone help me correctly identify this animal please? [http://imgur.com/ExSII.jpg](http://imgur.com/ExSII.jpg) Is this a beaver? The tail doesn’t seem flat enough. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/2 "2010-05-05T15:38:21Z")
Groundhog. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/3 "2010-05-05T15:38:39Z")
That is a woodchuck (aka groundhog, whistle-pig, or land-beaver). We have one that lives in our yard. [http://www.free-extras.com/images/woodchuck-8997.htm](http://www.free-extras.com/images/woodchuck-8997.htm) ---
**Author:** ![rockypg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rockypg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockypg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/4 "2010-05-05T15:45:31Z")
Thanks for the quick answers! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/5 "2010-05-05T15:47:15Z")
A [woodchuck](http://images.pictureshunt.com/pics/w/woodchuck-8994.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/6 "2010-05-05T15:48:15Z")
Damn! Beaten out again!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/7 "2010-05-05T15:51:30Z")
Quick! Did you see how much wood it was chucking?! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/8 "2010-05-05T15:59:24Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Quick! Did you see how much wood it was chucking?! How much ground could a groundhog grind if a groundhog could grind ground? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/9 "2010-05-05T15:59:35Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Quick! Did you see how much wood it was chucking?! 740 pounds. Someone actually observed a woodchuck excavating a new burrow, waited until it was done, then went and weighed the amount of dirt excavated, on the presumption that the quantity of wood which a woodchuck would chuck would be the same as the amount of dirt which a woodchuck did chuck in actuality. (Say that five times fast! :D) The result was 740 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![rockypg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rockypg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockypg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/10 "2010-05-05T16:01:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How much ground could a groundhog **grind** if a groundhog could grind ground? Wouldn’t a Groundhog hog ground and not grind it? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/11 "2010-05-05T16:04:35Z")
> [@rockypg](#): > > Wouldn’t a Groundhog hog ground and not grind it? I got this picture of a father hog saying to an adolescent pig wearing aviator goggles, “You’re grounded!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/12 "2010-05-05T16:07:57Z")
Carl…? ---
**Author:** ![rockypg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rockypg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockypg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/13 "2010-05-05T16:09:32Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I got this picture of a father hog saying to an adolescent pig wearing aviator goggles, “You’re grounded!” 😃 except that Rocky is a squirrel. I don’t think we could be any more offtopic than this :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/14 "2010-05-05T16:20:28Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > 740 pounds. > > Someone actually observed a woodchuck excavating a new burrow, waited until it was done, then went and weighed the amount of dirt excavated, on the presumption that the quantity of wood which a woodchuck would chuck would be the same as the amount of dirt which a woodchuck did chuck in actuality. (Say that five times fast! :D) > > The result was 740 pounds. Cecil’s article: [How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/411/how-much-wood-would-a-woodchuck-chuck-if-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-wood) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/15 "2010-05-05T16:23:41Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Cecil’s article: [How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/411/how-much-wood-would-a-woodchuck-chuck-if-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-wood) Thanks! I actually knew Richard Thomas casually when I worked for the state. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/16 "2010-05-05T17:54:56Z")
Given that the OP thought it could be a beaver, [maybe it’s a nutria](http://jjonesmanning.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/nutria.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/17 "2010-05-05T18:26:01Z")
"The article reports on the work of New York state wildlife expert Richard Thomas, who found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds. " Something must have gotten mis-transcribed there. A cubic yard (27 cubic feet) of dirt weighs an average of a ton. So we’d be talking more like 2700 pounds if the wood chuck was actually chucking 35 cubic feet of dirt. (You can google the weight of a cubic yard of dirt to verify my figures, but if you want a back of the envelope calculation, dirt is obviously denser than water, as it will sink. Water weighs 62 lbs per cubic foot, or about 1700 lbs. ) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/18 "2010-05-05T19:16:45Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I got this picture of a father hog saying to an adolescent pig wearing aviator goggles, “You’re grounded!” 😃 > [@rockypg](#): > > except that Rocky is a squirrel. > > I don’t think we could be any more offtopic than this :dubious: What? You’ve never heard the expression “When pigs fly”? 😃 I got the joke. The aviator goggles are what make the picture funny. (“You’re grounded.”) Like a _Far Side_ cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/19 "2010-05-06T00:21:11Z")
How much munk could a chipmunk chip if a chipmunk could chip munk? Need answer fast. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413/20 "2010-05-06T00:57:10Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > How much munk could a chipmunk chip if a chipmunk could chip munk? > > Need answer fast. I dunno, but what I want to know is: How much beaver would a land-beaver land if a land-beaver could land beaver? OK, I got that from the [wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beaver/538413.md?page=2)