- After a long career, one of the most reliable groundhogs has closed his eyes for the last time.
Yesterday, February 2, was Groundhog Day. You know how the thing goes — a groundhog comes out of its hole and if it sees its shadow, winter goes on for six more weeks.
But what happens if the groundhog is too busy being dead to see anything ever again?
Well, we’re about to find out. This year’s Groundhog Day was royally spoiled, at least in Quebec, Canada.
Fred la Marmotte (Fred the Groundhog for us French impaired) was supposed to predict how much winter is left in Val-d’Espoir as he has on many years before. Unfortunately, when his caretakers went to fetch Fred, they discovered he had left this mortal coil.
Fred was dead.
Some 40 minutes after the annual Groundhog Day event had begun, Roberto Blondin — the celebration’s organizer — climbed to the speaker’s podium. He delivered a surprisingly somber announcement of Fred’s death.
“In life, the only thing that’s certain is that nothing is certain. Well, this year it’s true,” said Blondin.
“It’s true and it’s unfortunate. I announce to you — the death of Fred.”
Fred didn’t drop dead overnight, though. In fact, he may have been dead for weeks or even months.
Fred had gone into hibernation this fall, as groundhogs are wont to do. However, he died peacefully in his sleep at some point before early December.
Despite the tragic news, the organizer was determined to let Val-d’Espoir’s Groundhog Day event continue. Instead of Fred, a young boy with a groundhog plushie was brought on stage to make the prediction.
The kid foresaw six more weeks of winter. We’ll see how accurate a mere human’s prediction ends up being.
‘He Was Awesome’
Although Fred’s passing was sad and surprising, you don’t need to feel too bad. He had lived a long and happy life and was quite old for a groundhog.
At the time of his death, Fred was nine years old. Although groundhogs can live up to 14 years in captivity, in the wild they generally kick the bucket by the age of six.
So, Fred was already a quite venerable senior by groundhog standards. Not only did he live long, but he was also excellent at his job.
“He was awesome. He gave awesome services, awesome prediction — 80% success rate,” said Renee Laurendeau, the Groundhog Day event’s spokeswoman and Fred’s self-appointed press agent.
“But I guess it had to come to an end.”
Everybody in the community, from children to seniors, loved Fred. And the late groundhog certainly brought honor to his family legacy.
Fred took over as Val-d’Espoir’s official groundhog when his father, Gros Fred. According to Laurendeau, Fred Sr. was even better than his son — his predictions were often more accurate than those of real meteorologists.
Now, the torch of predicting spring weather will pass further down the Fred family line. Succeeding Fred la Marmotte will be his son, Fred Junior.
We’re excited to see how well he will perform in his sacred duty.
Conflicting Results from Elsewhere
But what is the spring going to be like? Will winter continue or can we expect a warm, balmy, and early spring?
We have more predictions from elsewhere. Unfortunately, without Fred’s lauded accuracy, they’re quite conflicting.
Wiarton Willie in Ontario promised us an early spring. However, Nova Scotia’s famous groundhog Shubenacadie Sam saw her shadow and crawled back into her burrow for six more wintery weeks.
Meanwhile in the U.S., Punxsutawney Phil — the famed groundhog from Pennsylvania, also saw his shadow. However, Phil’s accuracy rate stands at only 40%, far below Fred’s excellent record.
So, what’ll it be — winter or spring? Well, the record stands 2-1 in favor of winter, so we suppose the weather will stay cold for a while longer at least.
But are these predictions really reliable? Ugh, all this uncertainty is tearing us apart.
If only Fred was here to tell us what it’ll be. Rest in peace, little guy.
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