Image Credit: CFJC News

By Adam Donnelly

THE SEARCH FOR A GROUND SQUIRREL

What does the fox say – on Groundhog Day in Kamloops?

Feb 2, 2023 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — February 2 is Groundhog Day, when we ask a large, ground-dwelling rodent to predict our weather for the next several weeks and bolster our mental health through these dark midwinter days. But how did Groundhog Day come about?

The event originated in Germany, except there it was a badger, and if it saw its shadow, they were in for four more weeks of winter. When a bunch of German immigrants came to Pennsylvania, they changed the animal to a groundhog and the shadow penalty to six weeks.

Groundhogs have many names, including woodchuck, groundpig or whistlepig — or even land beaver. McArthur Island Park is home to the closest approximation to a groundhog in the area — the yellow-bellied marmot.

However, no matter how hard we looked, there was no sign of the rodents. So, it was off to the BC Wildlife Park in search of more information about these elusive beasts.

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“We haven’t seen any groundhogs here, ever,” Tracy Reynolds, Animal Care Manager at the park explains. “We do get the yellow-bellied marmots and there are quite a few here in the park, but there are none yet. They are all still hibernating.”

However, there are other animals out and about, including raccoons, the park’s three-legged bobcat named Robert, and the resident foxes, Mia and Raven. And while none of these animals is known for its weather forecasting abilities, Tracy believes they are as reliable as a groundhog.

“I think they’re as good at doing it as a groundhog,” Reynolds suggests. “Maybe not quite, but I’d say close.”

All the animals at the park seemed pretty willing to come out and weren’t spooked by their shadows. Mia, the red fox, was a bit skittish, although she was coaxed out of her burrow by snacks. Her pal Raven was far bolder, cruising around the enclosure with hardly a care in the world. But what does that all mean?

“I’m going to go with early spring. That’s what I would like to see,” Reynolds tells CFJC Today. “I think all the zookeepers here would as well. We’re tired of slipping on ice and smashing water bowls, and cars that won’t start. All those fun things that come with winter.”

The search for a groundhog or even a distant cousin of a groundhog around Kamloops proved fruitless.
However, the ducks, raccoons, foxes, a three-legged bobcat named Robert, and Tracy from the BC Wildlife Park all agree — we’re ready for an early spring.