Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring on Groundhog Day 2011

Punxsutawney Phil, America's favorite groundhog, predicted an early spring when he failed to see his shadow Wednesday morning at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa.

Early spring predictions are rare for Phil. But Mike Johnston, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, insisted that the groundhog's failure to see his shadow was based solely on his accurate foreknowledge of weather trends. Reuters reported Wednesday:

Johnston said the latest prognostication will be entirely accurate, and does not reflect any desire on Phil's part to cheer up Americans who are suffering through a grueling winter.

"There is no question that Phil is capable of feeling empathy," Johnston said in an interview. "But he is absolutely incapable of error."

Others doubt Phil's infallibility, however. And his record of accuracy isn't the only controversy that has surrounded the groundhog in recent years: In 2010, PETA protested the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's continued reliance on Phil as a weather predictor/tourist attraction and asked the group to move him to a sanctuary and replace him with an animatronic groundhog replica.

Phil is "forced to be on display year round at the local library and is denied the ability to prepare for and enter yearly hibernation," PETA's animals in entertainment specialist Gemma Vaughan wrote in a letter to Groundhog Club President William Deeley. Vaughan noted that groundhogs are typically shy creatures and the throng of spectators and bright camera flashes at the annual Gobbler's Knob festivities are likely to cause little Phil undue stress.

Deeley, however, scoffed at the notion that Phil was unhappy, telling the Associated Press that he is "treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania" and is subject to annual inspections by Pennsylvania's agriculture department to ensure his well-being. (Plus, according to the Groundhog Club,  the rodent receives a sip of a special "groundhog punch" -- an elixir with a secret recipe that extends his life by seven years -- every summer.)

But Phil's actions may have spoken for themselves a few years back, when he made several daring attempts to escape his den at the Punxsutawney Library.

Does Phil look anxious? See for yourself in the video below:

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Phil is placed on his stump during Groundhog Day festivities in Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2. Credit: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

Video: Associated Press

Comments

[Harlie Burke]

what a cute groundhog!
he did look a little frightened but it is a tradition for america.
he shouldn't be on display the rest of the year, maybe put in a fake forest captivity type of cell and if people want pictures then they should take the flash off and have a small group of 12 people for 5 minutes to take pictures :)

[rebecca fritzler]

your right i think everyone should be ashamed of themselves, scaring the poor little groundhog like that. i bet phil was scared the first year he did the weather. and when phil dies they have to get another groundhog. i feel sorry for all hedgehogs. i mean groundhogs. sorry. im a sonic fan.

[Emma - 6 years old]

i think he looks cute.
i think i like him too much.
i wish i had a groundhog.

[ashley nunez]

is there six more week of winter?

[Ally]

Omg PETA why don't you worry about the animals in the world that are actually being mistreated. Phil may not live a normal life of a groundhog, but neither do any house hold pets. There are wild animals and then there are pets. And if they could talk im sure they'd prefer being a pet over a wild animal. Get a L I F E

[Helen Waite]

Seriously? All this concern over what is essentially an oversized rodent? If there was a large burrow threatening Harlie's home I doubt she woul dbe so concerned with the creatures well being.

[Natalie P.]

So how early is this spring supposed to be?

[josh]

Wow PETA its an animal , with all the money u spent investigating this groundhog. You could have saved so many kids lives in Africa that are starving to death , but no your more concern with how this animal is being " mistreated " truth is this animal Lives a better life then one fourth of the human population

[Andrew Sfreddo]

Wow ppl get a life its been a tradition for many years so quit your crying!!!

[Tim]

peta sucks!!!!

[Freezing to Death]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the LA Times? I happen to live in the vast, frozen wasteland known as western Pennsylvania. If I were to step outside right now without wearing basically an amateur space suit, I'd die of exposure in less than five minutes....FIVE MINUTES!

Here in hell, we take the groundhog very, very seriously. He's our only bastion of hope in the depths of the inescapable hell known as the western Pennsylvania winter. God, it sucks. For nine months out of the year I love it here....but winters are pure hell.