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(New York, NY) — The region’s resident rodents are gearing up for Groundhog Day this Sunday. One of the biggest shows involves Staten Island Chuck at the Staten Island Zoo who has an excellent track record when it comes to predicting if we’ll have a late winter or an early spring. Long Island will rely on Holtsville Hal and Malverne Mel for their predictions. New Jersey likes to look at Puxatawney Phil’s predictions in Pennsylvania, but Lady Edwina, the resident groundhog at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, will also make her guess. Meantime, Westchester County has a chicken, Cluxatawney Henrietta, who will lay an egg if she predicts an early spring.
One New Jersey town is canceling its annual Groundhog Day celebration for the fifth straight year as it struggles to find a groundhog replacement. Milltown residents say Groundhog Day is a major tradition for the seven thousand people who live there, but officials can’t find a new groundhog due to New Jersey State Law. It all started in 2021 when Milltown Mel died, and the town wrangler managed to find a replacement in Tennessee. However, they had to surrender the new groundhog to the state because of a law that prohibits importing animals that may potentially carry rabies, with officials saying they can’t get a groundhog legally until the law is changed. Milltown residents are invited to the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo where Edwina the Groundhog will predict either six more weeks of winter or an early spring.
