Groundhog Furniture Bandit Caught on Camera in Paws-itively Shocking Heist

There are many great reasons to have security cameras in and around your home. I like to use ours when we're out to check on my dogs and see what they're doing. It's also nice to know when packages are delivered or if someone has visited.

They are especially handy when things are out of place. In this case, the footage captured in this video shared on August 11 may have helped prevent a showdown with the neighbors.

That groundhog is quite the troublemaker! If I hadn't seen the Ring video (@ring), I wouldn't have believed this little critter could be the one to yank a huge welcome rug off the porch. I might have suspected neighborhood kids, even though that wouldn't have made sense. What made it even more amusing was how he was cozying up to a pillow as if he wanted to take it with him, too. If it had been smaller, it likely would've disappeared into his den for the winter.

Can you imagine if he had successfully removed the rug and the pillow? Would these people have been knocking on their neighbor’s doors to see who took it? It really could've caused some problems. This isn't the first time a groundhog has been captured on video in a front porch heist. In 2022, Newsweek reported a porch pirate situation in Ohio, where one had been stealing Amazon packages.

Related: 5 Groundhogs to Watch (Besides Punxsatawney Phil)

Fun Facts About Groundhogs

While they might be active thieves on warmer days, these rotund rodents take the winter off, hibernating in their den for about three months. Even though they'll go approximately 150 days without eating, according to the National Wildlife Foundation, Groundhogs will not lose more than a fourth of their body weight because of their fine-tuned metabolism, which slows as they sleep. However, to prepare for this, they say they can take down a pound of vegetation in one sitting or the equivalent of a 150-pound person eating a 15-pound steak. Woah!

This bold effort amused people. Viewer @lululadibug responded, “Without Ring, they would have sworn it was the neighbors they dislike!” It’s true! Viewer @fazylatass remarked, “That groundhog is going to have the best-decorated hole.” He has excellent taste! Viewer @autie.analyst responded, “Me shopping at Home Goods and testing the fluffiness of the pillows. Lol, pat, pat, squeeze, squeeze.” He'll be sleeping for a while during the winter, so it's understandable he wants to check them out.

If there is ever a reason to get a security camera, this Woodchuck is it. Even if there's no way to stop them, at least we won't be blaming the neighbors for anything that goes wrong.