Groundhog Day 2008 Punxsutawney Phil: Sex makes Groundhog Day difference
February 2, 2008
For Groundhog Day 2008 and those hoping for an early spring to warm the cold bones of winter, you might consider buying a ticket to the nearest tropical island for sunshine and warmth. Punxsutawney Phil has forecasted six more weeks of winter when he emerged this morning from his burrow to the sight of his shadow.
But wait. Hold off a minute on planning a vacation to a balmy climate. There is a controversy to the accuracy of Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions of a sexual kind.
Punxsutawney Phil might have competition he cannot compete with when it comes to predicting the arrival of spring. Sex appears to make a difference in seasonal weather prediction, if you are a woodchuck. Woody, a female woodchuck, has accurately predicted the arrival of spring six times in the last eight years.
Why would female woodchucks have the advantage in seasonal accuracy? Howell Conference & Nature Center’s executive director Richard Grant explains, “Female groundhogs have a whole lot more responsibility, including motherhood. What do male groundhogs do? They mate … and then they get hit by cars.” Ouch. If you are thinking this all sounds a bit sexist, or without a traditional leg to stand on, Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle member and one of Gobbler’s Knob town fathers John Griffiths comes to the defense of Punxsutawney Phil by stating, “I don’t think there would be a difference. As far as we’re concerned, there is only one true seer of seers.”
However, perhaps the very male groundhog Punxsutawney Phil needs a stronger defender in his camp. Griffiths went on to vacillate, “We have Punxey Phil, but he spends his time with wife Phyllis, who really rules the roost.”
On Groundhog Day, February 2nd, if Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his home on Gobbler’s Knob, and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, spring is just around the corner. But is it ultimately Phil or Phyllis who predicts the arrival of spring? Will Phyllis have influenced Phil all these years without recognition? Doubt has been raised.
Who would have thought there would be controversy in the woodchuck world. If Woody emerges from her home at the Howell Conference & Nature Center, remains outside for more than 30 seconds, and partakes in the bananas and peanuts left for her to eat, we can rejoice in an early spring. If she goes back in immediately, without eating, do not pack the woolies away quite yet.
And what has Punxsutawney Phil’s counterpart and very female woodchuck Woody predicted for Groundhog Day 2008? Spring is right around the corner.
[Photo credit: Woody of Howell Conference & Nature Center]
