Who dropped the groundhog and killed it?

Publish date: 2024-04-13

GROUNDHOG Day comes around every February and is one of the most intriguing traditions followed by North Americans.

While the first US Groundhog Day dates back to 1887, something awful happened during the 2015 celebration of the American ritual - and here is everything you need to know about it.

Who dropped the groundhog and killed it?

Former Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio was invited to the Staten Island Zoo for Groundhog Day festivities back in 2014, marking his first one since being elected at the time.

De Blasio accidentally dropped Charlotte, the 10-month-old female groundhog during the 2014 proceedings.

The groundhog managed to crawl up his arm after falling but died of “internal injuries” a week later.

Staten Island Zoo officials insisted de Blasio didn’t kill Charlotte, though the exact cause of her fatal injuries was never determined.

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In 2014, one of the spokespersons said: "We don’t know how the animal suffered the injuries but we don’t think it was from the fall."

What did De Blasio say?

After accidentally dropping Charlotte, Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said "he regretted the incident 100 per cent".

He explained that it was early in the morning and his "motor skills were not at their best" which led to the incident.

He added: "It was idiocy. Why would you want an elected official to hold a groundhog? I don’t know anything about holding groundhogs. So the whole thing is just insane. There’s an original sin here. Don’t hand someone a groundhog, right?

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De Blasio later laughed about it but vowed to never return to the ceremony after the accident, telling the New York Daily News: “I tried it, it didn’t end well, I won’t be back."

He also joked that the event was the "highlight" of his year.

However, he returned in 2015 for the ceremony again but the zoo had made changes to the tradition and enclosed the groundhog in a case, safe and away from the public.

But After that year, De Blasio has not been back to the Staten Island Groundhog Day celebration but insisted it was not due to a "scheduling conflict."

The former mayor told the NY Daily: “I guarantee you it’s not about a schedule conflict. It’s just good to leave it in the past. I think the groundhogs deserve that.

"They need to be safe. I’ve been advised by wildlife experts to stay within a 5-mile radius away from any groundhogs for their protection."

What did the groundhog predict for 2023?

The result of Groundhog Day 2023 was this morning revealed at approximately 7.20am in Pennsylvania.

And after Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow after emerging due to cloudy skies, Punxsutawney Phil told an applauding audience it wasn't time to get ready for spring quite yet.

Phil's prediction was made official after he spoke with Groundhog Club president Tom Dunkel in his native language "Groundhogese".

Chants of "six more weeks" were shouted to announce that winter won't be over for some time and for folks to bundle up and "enjoy the glorious winter."

The annual tradition - whose origin could be dated back to the 16th century - now centres around the somewhat mythical groundhog who predicts the weather ahead of January every year.

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Interstingly, Phil is not the only animal taking part in the curious event.

A few other creatures across the Atlantic take part in the tradition - and surprisingly, they all predict an ironic winter extension if they see a sunny day.

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