It's Groundhog Day, But Don't Forget the Marmots!

It's February 2nd & you know what that means Raven Country, it’s Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania, meaning that if you believe in his ability to predict the weather, we're in for six more weeks of winter.

Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam is predicting a long, cold winter ahead, while ontario's Wiarton Willie claims an early spring is on the way.

However sadly Milltown Mel in New Jersey, has passed away before his yearly prediction,

The Milltown Wranglers, Milltown’s official groundhog handlers said Mel "recently crossed over the rainbow bridge" - and their scramble for an alternate groundhog before Feb. 2 didn’t succeed.

“We will work hard on getting us a new weather prognosticator for next year," adding that we should "check out what all of Mel's cousins have to say" about the end of winter.

Van Isle Violet, a marmot who provides our seasonal prognostication, up on Mount Washington has officially woken up. This feisty fuzzy creature provided Vancouver Island with a warning shriek, and her handlers say that nothing scares Violet more than her own shadow. (Her shriek can be heard below!)

This means 6 more weeks of winter for Vancouver Island, if Violet has anything to say about it. 

The Vancouver Island Marmot is a remarkable animal. It is endemic to Canada - one of only a small handful of mammals to occur in this country and nowhere else. 

Vancouver Island marmots live in family groups called colonies and hibernate below ground from mid-September until late

April or early May. Hibernation permits the marmots to survive the long alpine winters when food is not available.

Unfortunately, the marmot is also Critically Endangered. In 2004, fewer than 30 remained in the wild. Recovery efforts by the Marmot Recovery Foundation and their partners have been restoring the population.

To donate to the cause, or learn more about marmot population recovery, visit https://marmots.org/about-marmots/animal-profile/ today!