At first, it looked like something out of a mystery novel.
You wake up after a night of heavy rain, walk out into the backyard of your century-old home, and there it is — a fresh hole. Not small. Not shallow. Just… there, like it appeared overnight.
It’s a bit alarming, especially if your house was built in 1900, like many in Cincinnati. You start thinking: Is it a sinkhole? A collapsed well? Something forgotten buried deep below?
The area has history. You know that. People have lived on this land for generations. Who knows what’s underneath?
So you peer inside — and it’s deeper than you expected. Smooth edges. No broken pipe. No bricks. No wood. Just soil… and a path that looks a little too deliberate.
And maybe, just maybe, you spot movement.
Here’s what’s likely happening:
It’s not a forgotten cistern. It’s not structural failure.
It’s a groundhog.
A very pregnant one.
That hole is part of a burrow system, and the reason it suddenly appeared after the rain? The soft soil made digging easier. And she’s not alone — she’s preparing a safe, cozy space underground for her soon-to-arrive babies.
Groundhogs — also known as woodchucks — are skilled diggers, and they prefer quiet, semi-hidden spaces near older homes, where the soil is soft and there’s plenty of vegetation. A mother groundhog will often dig several chambers, including one just for birthing.
And yes — the whole family may be living there soon.
So while it might look ominous at first, it’s really just nature doing what it does best. The groundhog isn’t destroying anything — she’s nesting. She’s making a home for her young, just like generations of humans did on that same land over a hundred years ago.
If you’re not thrilled about sharing your backyard, don’t worry — there are humane ways to encourage her to relocate once the babies are grown. But for now, maybe give her a little space.
After all, it’s not every day your backyard becomes part of a wildlife maternity ward.
