Sam and the Seven Baby Groundhogs

Did you hear the one about Sam Skemp, Jr., and his seven baby groundhogs?

If not, pour yourself another cup of morning coffee and enjoy one of the craziest stories I've been told in quite some time.

Sam, you see, lives on a farm between La Crosse and Coon Valley, Wis. Sam enjoys his little piece of God's green earth and all the critters that grace his land.

Sam, 38, is a district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a branch of the Department of Agriculture. Sam's office is in Richland Center, Wis., exactly 52 miles from his farm.

Wednesday, May 26, began like any other workday for Sam, who switches off driving his Honda CRV or another vehicle back and forth to work every day or so. Sam chose the Honda this particular day. He climbed into the seat, buckled his safety belt, and slowly backed out of his machine shed. Little did Sam know it was the beginning of a very peculiar day.

"When I backed out, I saw a large groundhog scurry from beneath the vehicle," Sam said.

Thinking nothing about the groundhog, Sam made his one-hour drive to Richland Center. About noon, Sam drove from his office in Richland Center to the Vernon County office in Viroqua, Wis., another 40 miles.

Sam said it was between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. when he and another worker decided to leave the Viroqua office and visit a landowner about some business.

"When I walked up to my vehicle in the parking lot, I saw a little groundhog walking around under my vehicle," Sam said. "Suddenly, I made the connection."

Sam opened the hood to the engine compartment. He couldn't believe his eyes. Every possible opening around the engine was packed full of straw, plastic and leaves.

Lying on top of the debris were four young groundhogs, around one- to two-months old. Seconds later, they were crawling down into various parts of engine.

"We went and got gloves and a small cage," Sam said. "It took 30 to 45 minutes to pull out the groundhogs, besides all the straw and debris.

Once Sam and a fellow worker placed the six little furry creatures into a cage, Sam drove over to Peterson Motors in Viroqua, hoping mechanics could blow out any remaining straw and debris with a high-pressure air hose.

"They blew it out for free, but guess what?" said Sam, laughing.

Yup, the good guys at Peterson Motors discovered another young woodchuck hidden in the remaining debris on the engine.

"The little critters were all quite feisty. We were glad we had thick gloves on," said Sam, estimating the animals weighed between 1 and 1½ pounds.

Still trying to connect the dots as he returned home with a cageful of groundhogs on the passenger seat of his vehicle, Sam figured recent heavy rainfall washed the critters from a burrow where they were born.

Sam said the vehicle hadn't been used in four days, more than enough time for Mama Groundhog to build another nest for her offspring.

Nearing home, Sam's car began to sputter.

Now what?

Sam pulled onto the shoulder of the road near Genoa, Wis. Some straw had been sucked into the intake area. Sam removed the air filter, digging out more straw.

Sam drove off again.

Ah, home at last, Sam must have thought, when he pulled into his driveway.

"When I got home, I parked away from the area, but I put the cage right where truck was originally parked," Sam said.

Sam opened the cage. Seven balls of fur scampered from inside and huddled together in one corner of the shed. When Sam checked on them two hours later, the young groundhogs were gone.

"I'm assuming their mother was in the vicinity. They were making chirps to alert her," Sam said. "They didn't seem prone to run, but stayed right there when I let them out of the cage. They probably smelled her scent."

Sam agrees that groundhogs, commonly called woodchucks, aren't the best friends of farmers. They burrow deep holes around buildings. Woodchucks, strictly herbivores, also damage vegetable crops, fruit trees and ornamental shrubs.

"I've had problems with them, but I didn't want the youngsters n after all they had been through n to not be able to re-unite with their mother," he said.

"I'm hoping they're OK. They went through a lot," said Sam, of the more than 100-mile road trip the young animals took that eventful day.

"Considering everything, they had a lot of energy and nibbled at some grass when I let them go," he said. "They appeared in good health."

Sam said he also considers himself very lucky. The engine compartment could have started on fire quite easily, considering all the straw that was packed around it.

"The mother packed straw into just about every cavity she could find in the motor. It took two or three of us quite awhile to pull the straw out of it," he said.

Sam said he was also lucky to be that DNR personnel were on hand when the animals were discovered.

"It's important for no one to handle wild animals other than trained professionals," he said. "Be sure to contact the DNR if wild animals are creating any problem or nuisance. Luckily, I had an experienced DNR wildlife technician on site when the critters were discovered."

Story by Bob Lamb, the LaCrosse Tribune.