FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) —
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated Groundhog Day early today with a special guest making her Central Valley debut: Maple the Groundhog.
Maple, an animal ambassador at the zoo, was given the choice between a winter box and a spring box to predict the upcoming weather. From the looks of it, Maple chose spring, hinting at an early warm-up ahead for the Central Valley.
Today marked Maple’s first-ever forecast in Fresno. Zoo officials say the event was a test run and wasn’t heavily promoted, but they hope it’s the first of many future forecasts.
Maple previously lived at a zoo in Oregon that shut down last summer due to poor animal treatment. After the closure, the animals were adopted out, and Fresno Chaffee Zoo took maple in, giving her a new home.
Fresno Groundhog makes debut at Fresno Chaffee Zoo (FOX26)
While groundhogs aren’t native to California they’re typically found on the East Coast and in Canada, maple has quickly made Fresno her forever home.
A fun fact: maple is believed to be the only living groundhog forecaster in California. the only other forecasting groundhog in the state is an animatronic figure named Chuck Wood in Quincy. Unlike Punxsutawney Phil, who is pulled from his burrow at sunrise to check for a shadow, Maple made her prediction by choosing between the two boxes.
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Zoo staff say they hope today’s successful test run leads to more Groundhog Day celebrations in the future.