Furry critter has own holiday
Punxsutawney Phil is one well-known groundhog
Punxsutawney, Pa., — a small city over 6,000 people, comprised of 2,700 males, 3,300 females … and one groundhog, according to the 2004 census.
Punxsutawney Phil, one of the well-known celebrities of the town, is a furry groundhog, known primarily for his winter- or spring-busting predictions.
In order to call Phil by his full name, a person might want to take a few breaths before attempting the first word.
According to www.about.com, the full name of the groundhog is “Punxsutawney Phil, seer of seers, sage of sages, prognosticator of prognosticators and weather prophet extraordinary.”
Punxsutawney Phil has been a long survivor in the town, over 120 years, thanks to a secret recipe of groundhog punch, according to the official Web site of the Punxsutawney groundhog, www.groundhog.org. However, groundhogs usually live between six and 10 years, depending on whether they live in the wild or captivity, according to www.wikipedia.com.
Bill Deeley, a member of the Groundhog Club Inner Circle, takes care of the groundhog throughout the rest of the year. According to Stormfax Weather Almanac, www.stormfax.com, Deeley said Phil lives on dog food and ice cream.
Deeley is retiring as the groundhog’s handler after 14 years of service this year, according to Fox News. Deeley will remain a member in the inner circle but will pass his duties onto a new handler.
“ This is not an appointment-type job,” he said in The Punxsutawney Spirit. “When you’re called, you go.”
Dr. William Bleier, professor and chair in the department of biological sciences, has conducted research on smaller mammals such as pocket gophers and wood rats. Bleier said a groundhog is a member of the rodent family.
“ It’s in the same family of rodents as squirrels,” he said. “A really big woodchuck might weigh about 10 pounds or so.”
A groundhog can also be called a woodchuck as a common name, Bleier said.
Groundhogs are a familiar mammal in North America. There are three species of the groundhog in the United States, Bleier said. The species inhabiting the Pennsylvania area, Marmota Monax, is also native to North Dakota. Yellow-Bellied Marmots and Hoary Marmots are also common groundhogs in North America.
Unlike the rest of his family of groundhogs, Phil isn’t in hibernation at the moment. Groundhogs are usually hibernating from the middle of November until late March, Bleier said.
During his long wait for Groundhog Day, Phil spends his time with his friends in a den that is 10 feet by 16 feet. Phil usually has two or three groundhog buddies with him, Bud Dunkel, a former handler and president of the Groundhog Club, said.
“ Nobody realized how much work it is taking care of the groundhog,” Dunkel said.
As Phil’s handler, Dunkel had to feed Phil every day, clean the windows in his den, keep water in his pool and take him out for visits. When the time came to get a new groundhog to be Phil’s companion, the handler would raise and take care of the newborn, Dunkel said.
“ I was ‘mom’ by the time they opened their eyes,” Dunkel said. “A good handler treats them like they’re his own pup.”
Phil’s friends were named Philameena and Barney during Dunkel’s time as handler.
Over his years in Punxsutawney, Phil has made many appearances outside his town. In 1986, Phil left the city to check out the nation’s capital and meet former President Ronald Reagan, according to www.groundhog.org.
Almost 10 years later, Phil made a guest appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Each Groundhog Day, over 30,000 people come to visit Phil and see him make his prediction, Dunkel said. Some people decide to make the day an annual event while others enjoy it once in a lifetime.