What animal do you call a whistle pig?

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Ok_Buy_9703@reddit

Marmot for me. Prarie dogs are too small.

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SummitJunkie7@reddit

I'm open to learning what a whistle pig is!

I am familiar with prairie dogs and groundhogs, which are two different animals, and I've never heard either of them called a whistle pig.

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Pirate_Lantern@reddit

I've only heard that named in referrence to Groundhogs.

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Amarastargazer@reddit

My husband from PA says it for groundhogs, too. I grew up in NJ and never heard the term before him.

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Catalina_Eddie@reddit

Not to mention, keeping an amphibious rodent, for domestic, that ain't legal either.

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Bacontoad@reddit

Amphibious rodents distributing pieces of wood is no basis for a system of government.

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Head-Passion894@reddit

If I claimed to be emperor just because some moistened bink lobbed a 2x4 at me, they'd have me locked up

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ProfessionalCat7640@reddit

On the contrary, the movement and care of the watershed can be quite the bureaucratic issue and who would know better than the amphibious rodent?

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ZestfullyStank@reddit

Also dude, having an aquatic rodent in the city limits…. That ain’t legal either

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oneshadeoff@reddit

What are you, a fuckin park ranger now?

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hobokobo1028@reddit

Woodchuck is closer to the original Native American word, butchered by Europeans of course

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ClawhammerJo@reddit

Yep. They give out a loud whistle-like sound when startled

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We have marmots in the high elevation areas of Colorado (generally above treeline), and they're related to groundhogs. They also whistle/chirp, so I've heard some people call them whistlepigs as well.

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WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs@reddit

Woodchuck and groundhog are the same, and they are members of the marmot genus. Marmots are part of the ground squirrel family, and ground squirrels are part of the sciuromorpha suborder of order Rodentia.

Your trivia for the day.

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Gecko23@reddit

Me too, might be related to the fact they whistle, and that prairie dogs only exist inside zoo enclosures in these parts.

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Pirate_Lantern@reddit

I've also only heard that name ON HERE.
We don't have them where I live.

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avinaut@reddit

When travelling? CA doesn't have Marmota monax

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Pirate_Lantern@reddit

On here actually

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JenniferJuniper6@reddit

I’ve never heard it at all.

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Pirate_Lantern@reddit

To be fair, I've only heard the name on HERE.

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schmatteganai@reddit

because groundhogs do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bXxNQbYvEM

I don't think prairie dogs whistle

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disappointinglyvague@reddit

you got me beat, never heard anyone say whistle pig ever

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mydogisatortoise@reddit

Guinea pigs

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stripmallbars@reddit

Whistle Pig Whiskey has a pig on the label. Makes no sense now.

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MutedAdvisor9414@reddit

Groudhog

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astrosergeant@reddit

I've only ever heard it in terms of whiskey, lmao

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Top-Nose2659@reddit

I have a bottle of 15 year in the cabinet

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SweetandSourCaroline@reddit

same 😂😂

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norecordofwrong@reddit

The distillery in VT?

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cornlip@reddit

Yup. It’s also where woodchuck cider comes from, which is apparently the same animal and I had no idea a whistle pig wasn’t just whiskey.

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byebybuy@reddit

Same lol. Never even occurred to me to consider whether it was an actual animal.

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Chickadee831@reddit

Groundhog

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Okbrain_456@reddit

Guinea pigs whistle.

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5hellback@reddit

The fat guy who whistles while he poops at work.

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finalcut@reddit

Bourbon

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foozballhead@reddit

I've never heard of a whistle pig

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MalevolentAnemone@reddit

I…don’t ?

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Zoilo2@reddit

Meriwether Lewis, in his Journals, called prairie dogs barking squirrels.

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cohrt@reddit

Nothing. Only whistlepig I know of is a whiskey.

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EntertainmentReady48@reddit

Like the whiskey

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robrtsmtn@reddit

Groundhog or around here a marmot

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Brave_Speaker_8336@reddit

I have never heard of a whistle pig

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sleepyj910@reddit

same. There's groundhog/woodchuck and prairie dogs.

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Zappagrrl02@reddit

Wait, are groundhogs and woodchucks the same thing?

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sleepyj910@reddit

Yes!

Common names for the groundhog include chuck, wood-chuck, groundpig, whistle-pig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk, land beaver and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux. Monax is an Algonquian name of the woodchuck, which means "digger".

The etymology of the name woodchuck is unrelated to wood nor any sense of chucking. It stems from an Algonquian (possibly Narragansett) name for the animal, wuchak.

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063anon@reddit

damn goid6 rye

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Sooner70@reddit

Only reason I clicked on this thread was to find out WTF a whistle pig was.

That said, I've never actually seen a prairie dog nor a groundhog beyond wildlife shows. Do they whistle?? And what about them draws a comparison to a pig?

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txchainsawmedic@reddit

Marmots are called "whistle pigs" Marmots are high alpine dwelling medium size rodents that whistle as a warning to the others that danger may be present

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Sooner70@reddit

Now Marmots, I've seen. Never heard them referred to as whistle pigs until now, however.

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highlandre@reddit

The prairie dogs around our dog park sound almost like they’re chirping. My dogs get so excited to see them but they don’t get to chase them. They were found to have the plague in another area of the metro so we stay far away.

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MamaPajamaMama@reddit

My previous house had a groundhog living under the shed. Never heard it whistle.

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IthurielSpear@reddit

Me neither

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Mysterious-Art8838@reddit

Me neither but as of now, my five pound dog. Always looking for more demeaning nicknames. It’s already a long list. 😆

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GiraffesCantSwim@reddit

Same. LOL

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LowCress9866@reddit

Whistle pig, I don't have any idea what it would mean, but if i went back in time I've minute and you asked me what a whistle of is I think i would say it's a Prohibition term for a blind pig with advanced warning lookouts

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Outrageous-Pin-4664@reddit

He's not in the book, you know.

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

Nor I, and I live around a thriving number of prairie dogs.

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shwh1963@reddit

I haven’t heard them callled that either

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

I thought sod poodles was even a stretch when Amarillo named their team.

I grew up with a lot of quirky saying but prairie dogs were just prairie dogs.

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Southern-Usual4211@reddit

Same never heard of it

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wwhsd@reddit

I’ve never heard the term “whistle pig” before.

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Suppafly@reddit

I've never heard of anything called a whistle pig. Reminds of how the German translation of most animals is something-pig though.

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Western-Finding-368@reddit

Whistle pig, woodchuck, and groundhog are all the same animal.

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Prestigious-Toe9381@reddit

It’s so easy to google too…no idea why people ask these questions

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Cheap_Coffee@reddit

They didn't. Read the OP again.

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BirthofRevolution@reddit

Pretty sure they're saying if you Google whistle pig it will tell you it's used to refer to a groundhog, not a prairie dog.

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Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit

OP is essentially running a poll to see if they're the only one, not asking for a definition.

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BirthofRevolution@reddit

Ok well since it is used to refer to a completely different animal, I'd say there's his answer

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Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit

That doesn't mean she is the only person using it that way. Sometimes things are region-specific.

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kat_storm13@reddit

They clearly stated they learned the actual answer. They're wondering if other people also thought it was for prairie dogs, or other animals.

And it looks like the majority of people in the comments learned something new today.

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Bkwyrme@reddit

And marmot and rockchuck.

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sosuhme@reddit

Slightly pedantic, I apologize, but I just looked it up and all groundhogs are marmots, but not all marmots are groundhogs.

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

Yeah. Pretty sure California marmots are not called groundhogs or woodchucks.

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Bkwyrme@reddit

It is very regional. I’d never heard rockchuck until I moved to one specific place.

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sosuhme@reddit

Right, I mean in the scientific sense. I'm sure there are many colloquial variations.

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YogurtclosetWrong268@reddit

Hearing the slope across a lake erupt in whistles when a raptor soars overhead is pretty cool.
Marmot, Groundhog, Woodchuck, Whistle Pig...none of them care what you call them. :-)

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Automatic-Raspberry3@reddit

It’s a New England term for a woodchuck. They’ll whistle when there is danger. Whistle pig whiskey is from VT. Other animal trivia. Porcupine literally means quill pig.

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SufficientProject273@reddit

I have never in my life heard that term.

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IHSV1855@reddit

I’ve only ever heard whistle pig in reference to whiskey.

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Youcants1tw1thus@reddit

I have never heard the term used in New England however, I have a friend from Pennsylvania and that’s how he refers to woodchuck.

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DismalTwo973@reddit

I call them rockchucks not whistle pigs

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Naturemations_2025@reddit

Honestly never heard the term "whistle pig" used for anything in my life, but that might just be 'cause I'm younger?

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sfdsquid@reddit

Having never heard the term, I'd guess a guy who does the wolf whistle at passing women.

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Zenthane@reddit

Neither, I've never heard that term before.

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Imaginary-Summer-920@reddit

I thought whistle pig was just a bourbon

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fook75@reddit

Groundhogs or marmots

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ShylokVakarian@reddit

I have never heard this term

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GenXer76@reddit

Marmot (I’m in Colorado)

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damaged_but_doable@reddit

Spent my whole life in Colorado where we have marmots and prairie dogs.

Prairie dogs sometimes get shortened to "p-dogs" or just "dogs" but never whistle pig. I can't say that I've ever heard anyone call a marmot anything but a marmot (unless you're being precise and call it a "yellow bellied marmot" or ultra precise and call it "Marmota flaviventris.")

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karebearofowls@reddit

I've only ever heard that term used for food.

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Sans_Seriphim@reddit

I do not use that term for anything. I hear it so rarely I forget it exists.

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into_outdoors@reddit

Good luck getting an American who doesn't live around either of these animals to tell you the difference between the two.

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

That's kind of beside the point isn't it? I don't need to live around a polar bear, giraffe, or wolverine to know what they are by name. If I did misidentify the creature I'd still know what the term was meant to indicate.

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into_outdoors@reddit

The op literally asked which animal one would refer to as a whistle pig.

How is it beside the point to say that most people wouldn't know the difference between the two?

If just shown a random picture, I wouldn't know the difference.

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MostAsk855@reddit

I would say the vast majority of Americans would know the difference between a prairie dog and a woodchuck/groundhog

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into_outdoors@reddit

The vast majority of Americans don't know who the vice president is at any given time or what the capital of Iowa is.

The vast majority of Americans can't identify snakes, spiders, trees, etc. correctly.

Show a picture of any three-leafed plant and the vast majority of Americans are going to think it's poison oak or poison Ivy.

The vast majority of Americans think most brown spiders are brown. Recluse and most water snakes are venomous pit vipers.

The vast majority of Americans

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

I'd think most Americans only know groundhogs from the groundhog day celebration in Punxatawney that gets reported on every year. They might also guess that prairie dogs live in the prairie. Whether the average American who doesn't regularly see these animals would know which is which from a picture, say, is pretty doubtful.

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Individual-Schemes@reddit

They don't really have that where I'm from (California).

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

California does have marmots. Mostly in the mountains. I suppose they whistle.

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Individual-Schemes@reddit

Oh yeah! In Yosemite! I avoid summer crowds so I've actually never seen them. :(

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AdelleDeWitt@reddit

None. That's not a teem that I am familiar with at all.

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SparkyValentine@reddit

A whistle pig is like a tiny prairie dog, and they make high pitched squeaky noises that sound like they’re whistling away. My kids used to walk to school on an Air Force base, on a long sidewalk that crossed a field of whistle pigs. We had a little concert every morning and afternoon as they popped up to scold us.

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ScamperPenguin@reddit (OP)

My dad is Air Force and I think that is where I first heard it.

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friskyburlington@reddit

Groundhogs

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Designer-Travel4785@reddit

Woodchucks. They actually whistle occasionally.

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PeachCobbler666@reddit

Marmot

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oneshadeoff@reddit

(groundhogs are marmots)

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PeachCobbler666@reddit

Ah. I've only heard 'whistle pig' in relation to the kind of marmot that lives in rocky, mountainous terrain. Do other the other types of marmot called groundhogs also chirp?

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foetusized@reddit

The yellow-bellied marmot, also known as a rock chuck. We also called them whistle pigs, when I worked in Yallowstone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_marmot

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draizetrain@reddit

What are you, a park ranger now? (/s)

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Environmental-Gap380@reddit

Same.

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LiqdPT@reddit

Funny thing. That's where Whistler Mountain outside Vancouver got its name, from the marmot population

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InvincibleChutzpah@reddit

A groundhog is a type of marmot. Same, though, I've heard whistle pig for marmots, not prairie dogs.

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JustASingleHorn@reddit

Same!

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nippleflick1@reddit

Whistle pig, wood chuck, ground hog, and they tasty when young.

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Kielbasa_Nunchucka@reddit

groundhog. even google brings it up if you search "whistle pig" (after several links for the whiskey)

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oldladylikesflowers@reddit

I’ve never heard that term and I’m 47 years old 😆

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hobokobo1028@reddit

I’ve never heard the term “whistle pig”

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CRO553R@reddit

I'll just sip on my whiskey while you guys hash it out

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DineenMattingly@reddit

I've never said - or heard anyone say - "whistle pig" in my life.

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donuttrackme@reddit

Never heard of the term. Grew up East Coast, now live on West Coast.

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DomineAppleTree@reddit

Whiskey

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capsaicinintheeyes@reddit

...what if you sometimes call groundhogs prairie dogs?

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elveebee22@reddit

I've never heard this phrase before 💀

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Queer_Advocate@reddit

Prairie dog? When you start to poop but it hasn't hit the water yet.

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asphid_jackal@reddit

I've heard of prairie dogs, sure, but I've never heard of a whistle pig before

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Queer_Advocate@reddit

Me either!

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fringeOdeath@reddit

Never heard that in my life

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

We don't have any of those here and when i hear whistlr pig i picture a giant gopher type critter that lives in colonies and sets out a watcher that whistles when it sees a coyote or hawk. Which ever that is, the whistle alarm is kinda the point.

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focoloconoco@reddit

Bold rye whiskey

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BadPom@reddit

Groundhog/woodchuck.

The only reason I know it’s called a whistle pig is that botanical garden nearby has it on a fun fact board in the children’s area.

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Majestic-Lie2690@reddit

I have never heard any animal referred to as a whistle pig. I wish I had tho

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BookLuvr7@reddit

I don't call any animal a whistle pig. I've never heard that expression in my life and I've lived all over the western US. Prairie dog yes. Whistle pig no.

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WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs@reddit

Lots of people use woodchuck, groundhog, and marmot interchangeably, and whistle pig is any of them. I've also heard it used to refer to guinea pigs a couple of times, though I think "shrieking pig" would be a better name for them.

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No_Cobbler154@reddit

a WHAT? 😂

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ladytal@reddit

It's a kind of whiskey.

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_herbsandspices_@reddit

We called them whistle pigs in SW Idaho; didn’t realize until I was way older that they were the same as groundhogs lol

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avinaut@reddit

I'm starting to think Southern Idaho is the ONLY place where something smaller than a marmot is called whistlepig.

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Pinko_comie@reddit

Urocitellus mollis (Piute Ground Squirrel) https://idfg.idaho.gov/species/taxa/16824

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Pinko_comie@reddit

Carnivorous nasty little buggers. Carry the plague too. https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/health-and-medicine/2015-05-22/dont-touch-dead-squirrels-in-idaho-they-might-have-plague

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Character-Twist-1409@reddit

What is a whistle pig?

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MostAsk855@reddit

It’s another name for a groundhog or woodchuck

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avinaut@reddit

Or other marmot. Usually. I have heard it used for smaller colonial ground squirrel species, though, in places where other terms for marmots dominate. OP is onto something.

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alcurtis727@reddit

My Whiskey

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NeverRarelySometimes@reddit

Marmot.

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Dick__Marathon@reddit

I'll be honest, the only whistle pig I've ever heard of is a whiskey lol

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RedSolez@reddit

Pennsylvania has the world's most famous groundhog, never heard of a whistle pig

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LopsidedGrapefruit11@reddit

Never heard anyone call anything a whistle pig, but it’s adorable for prairie dogs, which are basically smarter guinea pigs.

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bandit1206@reddit

Bourbon??

That’s the only place I’ve heard that term

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Ok_Orchid1004@reddit

Ground hog

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bluecifer7@reddit

I never knew a whistle pig was an actual thing, I only know it from bourbon

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mrdeesh@reddit

Marmots are the only animal I’ve ever heard called whistle pigs

I’ve never seen/heard a groundhog whistle but every time you’re hiking above tree line it’s readily apparent why marmots are called whistle pigs

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jedooderotomy@reddit

I've only ever heard it in reference to a Marmot. I'm from Colorado.

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Sugah-mama21@reddit

Never heard this term before

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Yeegis@reddit

A what?

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Riverboated@reddit

Marmot are whistle pigs.

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ka1982@reddit

I literally only know it as a rye whiskey brand, although I assumed it was some colluqualism from somewhere.

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Necessary-Plankton66@reddit

I've always heard ground squirrels called whistle pigs.

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avinaut@reddit

Southern Idahoans will call small ground squirrels "whistlepigs" and the yellow-bellied marmots "rockchucks". Southern Idaho has neither woodchucks (aka groundhogs, the typical Eastern Marmota species) nor prairie dogs (genus Cynomys).

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judgingA-holes@reddit

Never heard that term... I also asked the 6 coworkers sitting around me (mostly older than me) and they haven't heard of it either.

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Capital-Designer-385@reddit

I thought they were Guinea pigs?

Dad would also tell the dog to stop “whistle-pigging” when she was looking at him whining and stopping her feet for attention. That feels tangentially relevant

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ReferenceCreative510@reddit

Never heard of whistle pigs, I just call them groundhogs.

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blondie956@reddit

In Appalachia where I'm from, a "whistle pig" is a common name for the groundhog (woodchuck).

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jguerrer@reddit

The only time I've ever heard that term was on some quality Canadian Whisky

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nurseunicorn007@reddit

I have heard it used for guinea pigs. In my house, rock chucks are referred to as road rodents.

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BinkyDragonlord@reddit

This is the first time in my 47 year old American life that I have ever heard the term "whistle pig."

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captainstormy@reddit

The only time I've heard that used is as a nickname for an M60 machine gun from the Vietnam era.

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Oktodayithink@reddit

Groundhog, in Pennsylvania

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Butitsadryheat2@reddit

Never heard whistle pig before.

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TrapperJon@reddit

Groundhog, aka woodchuck in PA and NY. We don't have prairie dogs.

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auntiecoagulent@reddit

Groundhog

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russki516@reddit

Haha, never heard this before but it's funny

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BoardTwoTiers@reddit

To my understanding, whistle pig refers to groundhogs. That being said, the only time I have ever heard the words "whistle pig" coming out of someone's mouth was referring to the whisky brand.

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MrDBS@reddit

We call them screech sows.

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VinRow@reddit

Today I learned people call animals whistle pigs.

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Catalina_Eddie@reddit

Groundhog

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biggcb@reddit

I've never heard any animals referred to as a whistle pig.

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Player-non-player@reddit

Groundhog was a whistle pig, in Illinois growing up.

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MattieShoes@reddit

I've never called an animal a whistle pig in my life.

I know the term refers to an animal. I've never heard it referring to prairie dogs, just marmots.

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iceph03nix@reddit

I think I've heard the term once before for groundhogs, but we don't have them around here so not very familiar

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SnowblindAlbino@reddit

It's a groundhog or a rock chuck, depending on where you are regionally.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

I have never heard anyone say whistle pig ever. I live in the middle of the US.

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New_Chapter7365@reddit

It’s a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck. Common terms in Idaho, you go out and shoot whistle pigs for fun (not me personally).

A rockchuck is not a woodchuck or groundhog it’s a yellow bellied marmot.

While both the woodchuck and rockchuck are marmots they are not the same species.

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Gwtheyrn@reddit

A bottle of whiskey.

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Durham1988@reddit

Definitely a groundhog. In Winnie the Pooh they call the whistling guy "Gopher", but it's woodchucks who whistle.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Never heard it in my life

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tbodillia@reddit

I've never called any animal a whistle pig and have never heard the term whistle pig.

What AI told me: Groundhogs are primarily called whistle pigs in the Appalachian region and rural areas of the Eastern United States, including West Virginia, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

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Puzzleheaded_Math973@reddit

I thought what some folks call ground hogs are whistle pigs.

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flying_wrenches@reddit

It’s a regional nickname.

For example, in my region. Or atleast area, coyotes are often referred to as yotes, typically in a “I swear those yotes will not shut up” muttered at anywhere between 10pm-6am

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whatsupgrizzlyadams@reddit

I always get a look when I call them "crawl-daddies" or " mudbugs"

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flying_wrenches@reddit

I’ve definitely been asked “tf is a yote?” My fair share of times

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whatsupgrizzlyadams@reddit

Ground hog or woodchuck

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DjinnaG@reddit

None, this isn’t a term I’ve ever heard before. Maybe if an actual pig had a whistle stuck in its mouth I would call it one, but that’s just not a phrase that anyone would use anywhere I’ve lived (mid-Atlantic and south east)

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norecordofwrong@reddit

Marmot.

I learned that in CO people call marmots whistle pigs. It was only later I learned that people called groundhogs/woodchucks whistle pigs. So I always knew marmots as whistle pigs.

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Kyle81020@reddit

Groundhog.

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NIN10DOXD@reddit

I've only heard of it as the name of a whiskey.

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MrTeeWrecks@reddit

Only heard Groundhogs (aka Woodchucks) called that. And I lived in an area where Prairie Dogs outnumbered humans significantly.

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getdownheavy@reddit

Here in the northern rockies, Marmots.

It results in places named 'Whistler'.

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MountainCrowing@reddit

I’ve only ever heard it used to refer to woodchucks.

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DangerousDave303@reddit

Prairie dog or ground hog depending on the location.

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Final-Elderberry9162@reddit

I’ve never heard anything called a whistle pig in my life. I’m assuming this is very regional.

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CraftFamiliar5243@reddit

I never heard the term Whistle Pig until I moved to the South. This explains it. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9qwEk3gCugU

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Crayshack@reddit

I don't use the term "Whistle Pig." We also don't have Prairie Dogs locally, only Groundhogs.

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JoyDVeeve@reddit

Groundhog

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TTHS_Ed@reddit

The only Whistle Pig I know of is rye whiskey.

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Fantastic-Pop-9122@reddit

Groundhog/woodchuck they are soo loud.

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draizetrain@reddit

I’ve never heard anyone call anything a whistle pig. That’s interesting

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RexCelestis@reddit

I've only ever heard the term relating to bourbon. It's an actual creature?

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voteblue18@reddit

I’ve never called any animal a whistle pig. Maybe if a pig ever whistled at me I would but that hasn’t happened in almost 50 years.

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cathemeralcrone@reddit

A whistle pig is a ground hog. Much fatter and bigger than prairie dogs. There's a huge hole in our hay shed that is their home, but I don't know that I've ever heard them make any noises. They just waddle around snuffling at the ground.

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BobFromAnnArbor@reddit

They will occasionally make noise if they feel threatened. It’s a weird sound.

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HarlequinKOTF@reddit

Ground hog I guess? Never ever heard whistle pig before.

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Drslappybags@reddit

I'm sure it's a varmint of sorts but round here we call it whiskey.

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FunkIPA@reddit

I didn’t even know it referred to an animal, I only know the whiskey brand from Vermont.

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TheGrandExquisitor@reddit

My grandmother in Tacoma used to call the marmots in the mountains whistle pigs.

Groundhogs are marmots, BTW, so that sort of tracks.

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IHaveBoxerDogs@reddit

I don’t call them this, but learned others do. Groundhogs.

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TheRateBeerian@reddit

The only whistlepig I know of is the whiskey

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sneezhousing@reddit

Groundhog but it's a very little.used term these days most won't know eat it is

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UltraShadowArbiter@reddit

Groundhog.

Although, it seems to primarily be the Amish who call them that.

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cdsbigsby@reddit

Groundhog.

I had never heard that phrase before, then I worked with a guy from Texas who I learned it from. Now I'm attempting to spread it in Ohio.

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brokensharts@reddit

Are prarie dogs and groundhogs not the same thing?

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Lojackbel81@reddit

I’ve heard the term used for ground hogs but it’s not a name I use. I do use ground hog and wood chuck.

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hemibearcuda@reddit

Groundhog. I learned it from my grandpa back in the 70's.

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HooksNHaunts@reddit

Groundhogs. They whistle back if you whistle at them.

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Kingsolomanhere@reddit

I've never seen so many people who haven't heard of this before. Kind of explains a lot of the responses on this sub.

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Yankee_chef_nen@reddit

I’m pretty sure it’s a Midwest term, I’d never heard it on the east coast and only learned it about a year ago on Reddit. Seems like it’s mostly people that grew up in the Midwest that say they’ve always called them whistle pigs.

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tcarlson65@reddit

This was just a trivia question on the Meateater trivia podcast last Wednesday. Woodchucks or groundhogs use several high pitched vocalizations to communicate danger.

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Felis_igneus726@reddit

Never heard of anything called a "whistle pig". I call a groundhog a groundhog and a prairie dog a prairie dog.

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Yankee_chef_nen@reddit

Well yes because that’s what they are.

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Yankee_chef_nen@reddit

I never heard whistle pig until about a year ago on Reddit. It’s a groundhog according to everything I’ve seen on Reddit. I’ve still never heard it used in real life. I think it’s primarily a Midwest term.

I’ve lived in 9 eastern states, northern and southern over the last 51 years and like I said only learned some people call groundhogs whistle pigs.

I call the one that lives in my back woods Mr Grumbles because he patrols the edge of the woods grumbling.

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No-Profession422@reddit

I very never called any animal that. Never heard of it.

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IAFarmLife@reddit

Groundhogs are Whistlepigs because they whistle as an alarm call and hog is in their name. Certain locations also call Prairie Dogs that, but it's wrong.

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asexualrhino@reddit

Uh...none as far as I'm aware. Sounds like an old school name for a missile.

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IanDOsmond@reddit

Or Cockney rhyming slang.

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IanDOsmond@reddit

Probably an old-timey-styled hipster gastropub near a train station, but that's not an animal.

Seriously, though, I have heard the phrase, but didn't know it was supposed to refer to an actual animal.

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callmeKiKi1@reddit

I have heard the term, I think in older fiction, but never heard it used. My people came from a part of Texas where there are lots of prairie dogs, and they didn’t call them that, though there were lots of OTHER descriptive words used. 😉

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Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit

Interesting. I was gifted a bottle of WhistlePig whiskey. It didn't dawn on me that it was also a colloquial nickname.

I have never heard of this before.

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rawbface@reddit

I have never heard of a whistle pig. I have never even said the words "whistle pig" before.

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btnzgb@reddit

I have never heard of any animal called a “whistle pig”

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MissBandersnatch2U@reddit

I only heard the phrase recently and in reference to prairie dogs

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Char_siu_for_you@reddit

Marmot

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Equivalent-Speed-631@reddit

Groundhogs

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wieldymouse@reddit

I have never heard of a whistle pig..I'm from Florida.

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skicanoesun32@reddit

A whistle pig is the colloquial name for a groundhog/woodchuck

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Murderhornet212@reddit

I don’t. I’ve never heard that in my life. It must be regional.

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GreenBeanTM@reddit

Never heard the term before

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NotDelnor@reddit

My grandpa always called ground hogs that

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martsampson@reddit

Groundhogs

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Vachic09@reddit

It's not used in my dialect.

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Mad-Hettie@reddit

Whistlepigs are groundhogs in Eastern KY!

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travelinmatt76@reddit

Never heard of that

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airberger@reddit

Groundhogs, not prairie dogs

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Rj924@reddit

Curious George taught me that a Whistle Pig is a groundhog.

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Grand_Raccoon0923@reddit

It must be a regional term. I have lived from Wisconsin down into Texas and over to Georgia and never heard it.

A scamper penguin though, is like a guinea hen.

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Mysterious-Name-3297@reddit

I have never heard of the term whistle pig.

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AccountantRadiant351@reddit

I've only heard it for groundhog.

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newhappyrainbow@reddit

Ground hog/marmot.

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Comfortable-Bike9080@reddit

what the fuck is a whistle pig😭🤣

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RingGiver@reddit

Whistlepig is a brand of whiskey. I have never heard the term in any other context.

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gdubh@reddit

I’ve lived in multiple areas thick with prairie dogs most of my 50+ years and have never heard this term.

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CosyBeluga@reddit

It’s a groundhog specific noise that earned it the name

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cmcrich@reddit

The only Whistlepig I know is the whisky.

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PokeCaptain@reddit

A what?

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-RedRocket-@reddit

I don't call any animals that. I call groundhogs groundhogs.

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rustydotpearl@reddit

To me any animal bigger than a shrew and smaller than a moose is a whistle pig. That way I get to say whistle pig more often.

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Silent-Attention6685@reddit

Marmot

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Current_Poster@reddit

I call *no* animal a whistle pig.

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Quirky_Commission_56@reddit

I’ve always referred to them as Prarie Dogs here in Texas.

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PlutoniumBoss@reddit

I have heard groundhogs called whistle pigs in Ohio.

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NonSupportiveCup@reddit

Groundhog

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macoafi@reddit

A what now?

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Quix66@reddit

Guinea pig? Don’t they whistle?

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ThrowawayMod1989@reddit

Marmot, so basically an highland groundhog. Never heard regular groundhogs referred to that way weirdly enough.

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InvincibleChutzpah@reddit

Groundhogs are a species of marmot. Marmota monax

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klimekam@reddit

It’s a good whisky. Other than that I don’t know.

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Intelligent_Pop1173@reddit

I’ve never heard that term! We have a lot of groundhogs in New York and another common term for them is woodchuck. They do whistle so it’s entirely possible this is a nickname I’ve just never heard of.

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InvincibleChutzpah@reddit

Whistle pig is a west coast and mountain state nickname for marmots. Groundhogs, a species of marmot, don't live on that half of the US. However the nickname extends to all marmots as they look similar.

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-blundertaker-@reddit

The only whistlepig I know is whiskey

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goblin_hipster@reddit

Groundhog. They actually do whistle! I came upon some babies in the grass once. One of them ran away but one was still snuffling around. The other one whistled and its sibling ran for cover.

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Rockerstar33@reddit

I’ve always heard it used for groundhogs, never prairie dogs

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Traveller7142@reddit

Marmot

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Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

Groundhog.

Groundhogs can be pig-like in body. Prairie dogs aren't pig-like in body.

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No_Tamanegi@reddit

I used to go to a pub called the Pig & Whistle. Does that count?

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RedIsAwesome@reddit

I'll allow it

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Remarkable_Pie_1353@reddit

Groundhog here in Midwest USA. Marmot in the western US I think.

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burlingk@reddit

This is my first time hearing that term.

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Cheap_Coffee@reddit

I don't know of any animals called whistle pigs. Where did you hear the term?

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IconoclastExplosive@reddit

The fuck is a whistle pig

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DooficusIdjit@reddit

Never heard of that. Groundhogs are groundhogs. Prairie dogs are prairie dogs.

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No_Salad_8766@reddit

I call nothing a whistle pig. Never heard of it before now.

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enemydarksock@reddit

Never heard it before but if you didn’t say what it was in the post I’d probably think you were referring to a guinea pig lol

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bren3669@reddit

i don’t.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

A groundhog (or a woodchuck). We, um, don’t have prairie dogs in the places I’ve lived where the term whistlepig is used.

Also now I want some rye whiskey.

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LHCThor@reddit

Only in reference to a whiskey

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Smart_Engine_3331@reddit

American: Ive never heard of this. May be a regional thing.

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babassu_seeds@reddit

I do not call any animal a whistle pig, but I'm intrigued

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dopefiendeddie@reddit

Based on your description, “whistle pig” sounds like a very Great Plains phrase.

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Chumptopia@reddit

This would be a great trivia question.

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SonnySmilez@reddit

Groundhog.

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DanteRuneclaw@reddit

I have never in half a century called any animal that or heard anyone else do so.

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Queasy-Flan2229@reddit

No such thing as a whistle pig around here

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Angsty_Potatos@reddit

Ground hog

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Channel_Huge@reddit

Um… lived in the U.S. my whole life and never heard of a “Whistle Pig.” 🐷

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ladybugseattle@reddit

The marmots among the rocks above the tree line on the Pacific crest trail. You hear them before you see them. Some are pretty friendly little snack beggars. But actually feeding a wild animal is wrong, and I never did it, I swear. Yes there can be bears around too.

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