Punxsutawney Phil, best known as the groundhog that either does or doesn’t see his shadow on Groundhog Day, is now a father.
Phil and his mate Phyllis have welcomed two healthy baby groundhogs, which are currently with both mom and dad at the zoo located at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club posted on Facebook that both the new parents and babies can be viewed through a window at the library.
The typical groundhog litter has four to six pups that are born hairless and stay in their burrows for the first weeks of their lives. But groundhogs grow up fast, becoming independent after 10 or 12 weeks, so we can expect to get a better look at the twins this spring and summer.
The new additions are the first babies — which are called kits, pups or cubs — for Phil and Phyllis.
There’s no word yet if the twins will be going into the family business and taking over for dad when the time comes, but the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club makes that seem doubtful — and unnecessary. The Club says that while his predictions date back to 1886, there has only ever been one Phil.
“Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the ‘elixir of life,’ a secret recipe,” they say on their website. “Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.”
Named after King Phillip, the Club says when he’s not predicting the weather — and now looking after his little ones — Phil enjoys reading books and the daily newspaper. He also visits schools, attends sporting events and participates in parades.
Phil did not see his shadow this Groundhog Day, meaning spring was supposed to start early. Over the last 10 years, however, Phil has had an accuracy of about 40% and predicts a longer winter around 84% of the time.
This story was originally published by Kaitlin Gates at Simplemost.
Punxsutawney Phil makes his 2024 Groundhog Day prediction
Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, ending a three-year streak of predicting six more weeks of winter.
