Punxsutawney Phil now has a new job that will last year-round. The world-renowned groundhog whose primary gig is weather prognostication is now a father for the first time in 138 years.
Phil and Phyllis recently welcomed two baby groundhogs on Saturday, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The babies are currently with the pair in their burrow at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, where they are being cared for and can be seen through a viewing window.
A video of the new arrivals shows the healthy woodchuck babies wriggling with each other.
For a groundhog full of surprises, this one has been like no other for Phil’s handlers and the world.
“It was just evident when they went in one day and there were two groundhogs, we went in the next day, and they were four with two little babies,” Groundhog Club Vice President Dan McGinley said. “This was not something that we saw very far out, so it’s all brand new to all of us. We’re all very excited.”
Some may recognize McGinley as the one who announces Phil’s proclamation, reading the scroll that determines the fate of winter. He also handles many of Phil’s other appearances throughout the year.
The babies have not been named yet, but McGinley says he’s hopeful they’ll have names later this spring.
“If Phil decides to share with the president of the club the names, then we will be aware, but nothing yet,” he said.
Unfortunately though, the babies will not be “heirs to the throne,” as McGinley calls it. That is, they won’t ever take over Phil’s job on Groundhog Day when the time comes.
“There is only one and only has ever been one Punxsutawney Phil,” McGinley said. “These are not here to replace the one and only prognosticator of all prognosticators.”
Groundhogs live up to six years in the wild, but the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has previously stated Phil’s longevity comes from taking a sip of the “elixir of life” every summer at the Groundhog Picnic. This secret recipe magically gives him seven more years of life.
