its scared
shills panic
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-jersey-groundhog-milltown-mel-dies-days-before-groundhog-day/ar-AATncCT?ocid=msedgntp
New Jersey’s prognosticating rodent Milltown Mel saw the shadow of death — just before Groundhog Day.
The famed groundhog died Sunday, according to a Facebook page dedicated to the popular marmot. That’s two days before he was booked for the annual event where his wranglers were to tell the Garden State whether or not an early spring was on the horizon.
“We Wranglers are sad to report that Milltown Mel recently crossed over the rainbow bridge,” the handlers said. “Considering the average lifespan of a Groundhog is about 3 years, that is not such a shock, but Mel left us at a tough time of year.”
According to those handlers, who call themselves the Milltown Wranglers, most groundhogs are hibernating at this time of year. They were unable to find a replacement in time for Tuesday’s event.
“We will work hard on getting us a new weather prognosticator for next year,” they wrote. “Till then please check out what all of Mel’s cousins have to say on Feb 2nd.”
A website operated by the town of Milltown, N.J., says that the tradition of having a Milltown Mel began a decade ago and was inspired by Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil, who has been looking for his shadow since 1887.
As the legend goes, if a groundhog emerges from its hole on Feb. 2 and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather rather than early spring temperatures.
Head Wrangler Jerry Guthlein holds up his groundhog Milltown Mel on Groundhog Day at the American Legion on Feb. 2, 2017 in Milltown, NJ.
A similar situation occurred in 2016 when Sussex County woodchuck Stonewall Jackson died one day before Groundhog Day, according to NJ.com. That caused Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Wantage to cancel their planned festivities.
The most publicized death suffered by a ceremonial groundhog occurred in 2014 when former New York city mayor Bill De Blasio fumbled Staten Island Chuck, days before the 10-month-old animal’s early demise. De Blasio didn’t attend the city’s 2015 Groundhog Day ceremony.
“I tried it, it didn’t end well,” he said then. “I won’t be back.”
The female woodchuck that was playing the role of Staten Island Chuck during that fateful fall was a female named Charlotte. She languished for a week before succumbing to internal injuries. Shortly after leaving office, De Blasio named being “not good with groundhogs” among the mistakes he made during his two terms in office.
Milltown Mel’s cause of death was not announced.