During Groundhog Day today, on Feb 2, citizens of the United States and Canada observe a groundhog, and this groundhog predicts if there will be more winter or an early Spring. This groundhog that predicts if we have to suffer through more winter is named Punxsutawney Phil. Now, we have a love-hate relationship with good ol’ Phil, but there’s one thing we adore: Phil is a father!
That’s right, this is the first Groundhog Day where Phil is a father!
Per Good Morning America, this marks his first Groundhog Day as a papa because he and his wife Phyllis welcomed two baby groundhogs back in March 2024. (Yes, Phil and Phyllis are literally married groundhogs at the Groundhog Zoo in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.) In May 2024, it was revealed that the girl baby was named Sunny and the boy’s name was Shadow, both a tongue-in-cheek reference to the tradition of Phil seeing or not seeing his own shadow.
Now, this is especially cool when you keep in mind that he is the first Phil in over a century to be a papa. Per GMA, he is the “first prophetic groundhog to do so since 1886!” How cosmically cute is that?!
But for those wondering, will Sunny and Shadow take over when Phil passes? Nope! “These kits of his are not replacements, they’re not the heir apparent. Sunny and Shadow will not be part of the ceremony – it’s still Phil’s job. There’s still only one Punxsutawney Phil,” Dan McGinley, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle said to 6ABC News.
Despite being a proud new dad, Phil still predicted that we’d have six more weeks of winter since he saw his shadow. (But don’t worry, he’s around 35 percent accurate most of the time, per National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration!)
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