'Porch Pirate': Groundhog Caught on Camera Hilariously Stealing Package

A man has been left empty-handed after an unusual theft on his front porch. After ordering from Amazon, he was shocked to find his package missing—before checking the security camera and finding a groundhog had stolen his item.

On Friday, Kevin Benavides from Columbus, Ohio shared the video on the Reddit forum r/funny.

Benavides told Newsweek: "I received an email with a picture from Amazon saying that my package had arrived. At the time, I was not home. When I got home that afternoon I did not see the package.

"My first thought was, 'someone took my package,' I was confused since the delivery driver placed the package right under my doorbell camera. I didn't think someone would be brave enough to take a package with the camera right in front of their face. So I looked at the footage and was surprised by what I saw."

The doorbell camera had caught the package being delivered at 5 p.m., and just eight minutes later, a cheeky groundhog found its way to the package, and pulled it away.

Closely related to squirrels, the groundhog—sometimes known as a woodchuck—are vegetarian rodents that live in burrows. The underground structures are essential for hibernation, a groundhog burrow can be up to 50 feet long, with multiple levels, exits, and rooms.

When preparing for hibernation, they feast all summer on plants, grubs, grasshoppers and even bird egg, eating as much as one pound of food at a time. For this reason, they are often considered pests, frequently feasting on plants and vegetables in gardens.

Reddit users were amazed by the woodchuck's antics.

One commenter wrote: "You know the economy's bad when even the rodents are becoming porch pirates," another joked: "That's the last time you order groundhog treats from Amazon."

The groundhog is of course most famous for its own national holiday (Groundhog Day) celebrated on February 2, and famous woodchuck Punxsutawney Phil has been considered an informal predictor of weather since 1887. Each year, a crowd of thousands gathers in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Phil the groundhog emerges from his slumber.

If he sees his shadow, it is said that the U.S. can expect six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn't see his shadow, it is expected there will be an early spring.

According to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, the rodent has correctly predicted the arrival of spring 40 percent of the time in the last ten years.

"The groundhog saw the package's shadow and decided it would be six more weeks of waiting to get your s***," joked one commenter on Reddit.

Benavides said he laughed when he saw the footage: "I have not been able to find the package—I've looked all around my yard, I don't know where the groundhog took it."