Become a Big Furry Friends V.I.P. We bring you the world’s most luxurious handmade stuffed plush animals.  Not just great personal gifts, these beautiful pieces make great mascots, corporate gifts, and display pieces for homes, offices, theatre, commercial and movie props. Collectors young and old agree these are keepsakes for a lifetime! Phil Groundhog / Marmot Handmade in Italy by Piutre $ 175.00 Punky and Tawny Groundhog / Marmot Handmade in Italy by Ramat $      The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus. Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennine Mountains, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatra, and Pyrenees in Europe, the Rockies, the Black Hills, the Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada in North America, Deosai plateau in Pakistan, and Ladakh in India. The groundhog, however, is also properly called a marmot, while the similarly-sized but more social prairie dog is not classified in the genus Marmota but in the related genus Cynomys.      Marmots typically live in burrows (often within rockpiles, particularly in the case of the Yellow-bellied Marmot), and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. Marmots mainly eat greens and many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots, and flowers.      The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Alabama.      In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years, with two or three being average. In captivity, groundhogs are reported to live from 9- 14 years, with the original Wiarton Willie being said to have lived for 22. Common predators for groundhogs include wolves, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, bears, large hawks, owls, and dogs. Young groundhogs are often at risk for predation by snakes, which easily enter the burrow.      Mostly herbivorous, groundhogs primarily eat wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops, when available. Groundhogs also eat grubs, grasshoppers, insects, snails and other small animals, but are not as omnivorous as many other sciuridae. Like squirrels they also have been observed sitting up eating nuts such as shagbark hickory but unlike squirrels do not bury them for future use. Groundhogs raised in captivity can be socialized relatively easily; however, their aggressive nature can pose problems. Doug Schwartz, a zookeeper and groundhog trainer at the Staten Island Zoo, has been quoted as saying "They’re known for their aggression, so you’re starting from a hard place. [Their] natural impulse is to kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out. You have to work to produce the sweet and cuddly."      In the United States and Canada, the yearly Groundhog Day celebration has given the groundhog recognition and popularity, as has the movie of the same name. The most popularly known of these groundhogs are Wiarton Willie and Punxsutawney Phil, well kept as part of Groundhog Day festivities in Wiarton, Ontario and Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, respectively. A famous southern groundhog, General Beauregard Lee, is based at the Yellow River Game Ranch outside Atlanta, Georgia. His forecasts are also very popular in the Southeast.      Woodchucks are used in medical research on hepatitis B-induced liver cancer. When infected with Woodchuck Hepatitis B virus they are at 100% risk for developing liver cancer, making them a good model for testing Hepatitis B and liver cancer therapies.      Groundhog burrows have been known to reveal at least one archaeological site, the Ufferman Site in the U.S. state of Ohio.  Although archaeologists have never excavated the Ufferman Site, numerous artifacts have been found because of the activities of local groundhogs. They favor the loose soil of the esker upon which the site lies, and their many diggings for their burrows have brought to the surface significant numbers of human and animal bones, pottery, and bits of stone Become a Big Furry Friends V.I.P. Luxury All our animals are hand-made from the finest plush stuffed animal artisans in the world. They are life-like, some lifesize and all realistic with careful attention to detail. They make an impressive gift, whether corporate or personal, but also make a statement as a corporate mascot or display at your company’s headquarters. Our plush animals are used for staging homes for sale, creating themed weddings, conventions and events where these furry friends add a real ‘wow factor’. Our life-like plush stuffed animals have also been used in museums, as well as theatrical props in movies, commercials and on live stage productions all over the world. What is contained here is a sampling of what our artisans have to offer - If you can imagine it, we can create it for you! Photography Studio Props  - Interior design  Staging for home rental or sale Non-taxidermy Props for Commericals, Television, Movies and Theatre Stage  Museum displays Themed Decor for weddings, parties, corporate events Corporate gift ideas and Mascots, College and other school Mascots, Luxury  gifts for, friends, family or yourself.  Luxurious Costumes for Carnevale, Halloween and dress-up. Corporate Branding If we don’t have it, we can  create it just for you    You deserve the Very Best