Tcups: G-hogs are one of the very few North American animals that go into true hybernation so the SC climate is not suited for them because it's not cold enough. They are found only in the Northern parts of the country (and Canada) where it gets really cold in the winter. They usually range from South Jersey on up (on the East Coast). I don't even think VA has them.
Jeff: That is exactly the reason g-hog populations have exploded in the recent years - you said it: The land is being developed too much too fast. As more & more trees or forests are leveled to build homes and back yards with nice lawns, the predators like foxes, coyotees and racoons cannot get to the g-hogs. These predators generally avoid residential areas. I visited a few web sites a couple of years ago to read about g-hogs including Wikipedia and University studies, etc. and they all concluded that house development and generally man continously expanding and building up rural and more specifically wooded areas, is the only reason the g-hog population has soared. Lets not forget that they are commonly called woodchucks because woods are, or used to be, their main habitat. When an area is leveled for home development, condos/towhouses, commercial/industrial, office buildings, etc., all the animals move out except for the G-hogs. Most of them are patiently awaiting under ground in their burrows and tunnels to surface when the construction ends. With the predators far away their #'s natually increase.
Wikipedia and other scientific sourses said that the G-hogs's main predator is now man, and that they are mostly killed for sport or pest control, which is why their average life expectancy is only 3yrs. Still they continue to thrive. I believe they said it is estimated that 1-2 Million G-hogs are taken every year! That 's a large number considering that more than 1/2 the country does not have g-hogs. I 'm going by memory here but I 'll double check that number. Still it's amazing how their population keeps growing. The extreme predation by man has not hurt their #'s, so one would conclude that the constant land development is too beneficial for the G-hogs to the point where heavy hunting does not affect them.
In Rockland county where I was raised in Suburbia just 16mi. north of NYC, g-hogs started moving to my parents property and the neighbors' shortly after they leveled most of the woods behind their house and around the block, to build large Million-dollar (or multi-million $) homes and new roads, etc. I 'll never forget the day just 3yrs ago when was coming up to my parents' front steps and see a g-hog hole on the side of the concrete steps under the foundation! I walk in and see my mom distraught. She saw the g-hog 20min. (for the 1st time in her life) earlier when she opened the door and it ran towards her and down its hole next to the concrete steps. She 's afraid of a mouse so you can imagine when she saw a 10lb g-hog that looks like a big hairy rodent! :-) I spend hours waiting by the window with the Marlin 60 .22LR to get it on and off for a couple of summers but was only able to get one in their backyard. 30yrs in that house and they never had g-hogs until 3yrs ago when all the development started occuring around the neighborhood. It used to be all wooded areas and actually my hunting grounds during my youth. My dad back then without consulting me put a big rock in front of that hole so the g-hog opened up another one the next day on the opposite side of the steps coming out from under the house foundation. For 3yrs relatives and visitors came in and said: do you know you have a big hole under your house? :-) It was there for everyone to see as they walked up those 2 steps. 3yrs later and I still have not been able to get that g-hog but I only spend a couple of hours visiting them at a time so it's hard when you don't live there and you mainly visit for dinner and holidays. A couple of months ago as I was coming close to my mom's driveway I saw him again run across the street straight to the same front steps and disappear. A neighbor was out too and we started talking and he said he is infested too and they mainly live under his deck. He had been living there for 32yrs and never had seen one until a couple of years ago when the construction of new homes started.
I had some big plans for those g-hogs at my parents' house this year but after my dad passed away last year, my mom sold the house this summer and moved to Lancaster,PA (Amish country like someone said) near my sister, so I 'm looking forward to visiting her new place and hopefully find some g-hogs near by :-) My sister lives in a brand new development just outside Lancaster PA. My brother-in-law said they have g-hogs in their back yard too and asked me to bring a couple of airguns to see if we can get some but my sister was totally against it when I visited them a few weeks ago. I didn't feel bad because these huge homes were all like next to each other on only 0.2 to 0.25 acre lots. They all can see each other's backyards and there were no trees in sight except for little baby ones everyone was growing, so I didn't feel comfortable shooting anything especially because I believe it's illegal in PA to hunt or shoot critters with an airgun (another stupid law).
Anyway I ended up writing a book again.. I type very fast and get carried away so I apologize for the long post.
