We all know what Punxsutawney Phil will be doing on February 2nd, but how about Staten Island Chuck, Sir Walter Wally, or Buckeye Chuck?  No, these are not NCAA mascots, they’re groundhogs!  Prognosticating groundhogs to be exact.  While you may think that only Phil can tell you whether there will be six more weeks of winter, these professionals and others around the country also take on the job every February 2nd, and are ready to make their predictions this Groundhog Day.
 
Staten Island Chuck, formally known as Charles G. Hogg, is a resident of the Staten Island Zoo, and will be making his prediction on the return of spring with NYC Mayor Bloomberg.  Sir Walter Wally, who is regularly featured on the Weather Channel, makes his future weather determinations at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, along with his “Groundhog Whisperer,” (aka translator) Mayor McFarlane.   There’s Chuckles the Groundhog of Connecticut, who spends his days at the Lutz Children’s Museum and is also gearing up for his big day.  Ohio gets its weather predication from Buckeye Chuck, and Georgia’s General Beauregard Lee gives the Southeast his forecast from his home in Atlanta. And don’t forget about Woodstock Willie of Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie “Groundhog Day” was actually filmed!

Who says only groundhogs can predict an early spring?  Balzac Billy, the “Prairie Prognosticator” of Balzac, near Calgary, will be making his annual prediction this year.  Billy, though, is not a groundhog at all, but a gopher!  Then there’s Michigan’s Tutor the Llama, who inherited his job of forecasting from another llama, Zac, who received the job from his best friend Noah, the official prognosticating groundhog of Oxford, Michigan.  After Noah passed, Zac took over the job, and then passed it on to his friend Tutor – a little nepotism, perhaps?

There are several other groundhogs around the country just waiting for their moment in the spotlight on February 2nd.  So, whether you take the word of a groundhog, a gopher, a llama, or some other weather-predicting animal, here’s hoping that all of them predict an early spring!