Visit the Milwaukee County Zoo for the groundhog's annual prediction
Milwaukee — Do the recent warmer temperatures signal that spring is around the corner? Or can we expect cold and snow to return?
Join the Milwaukee County Zoo’s resident groundhog, Wynter, Thursday, Feb. 2, as she makes her annual weather prediction. According to tradition, if it’s a sunny day and Wynter does see her shadow, she’ll return to her burrow for six more weeks of winter, but if she does not see her shadow, we can expect an early spring.
Visit the Zoo’s Northwestern Mutual Family Farm at 10:30 a.m. to find out.
The celebration includes a free raffle in which visitors can cast their vote for “Shadow” or No Shadow.” Several winners will be drawn from the winning predictions, and can win sought-after groundhog-themed headbands, hats and toy plushies. A group of thirdgrade students from the Milwaukee Montessori School will be joining the festivities.
When 9-year-old groundhog, Wynter, was found orphaned on a roadside at 5 weeks old, the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio rescued and rehabilitated her. Wynter served as one of the museum’s hands-on educational animals for children.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are the largest members of the squirrel family. They are good swimmers and can climb trees. In the wild, they eat grasses, plants, fruits and tree bark. During warm seasons, a groundhog can eat more than one pound of vegetation in one feeding.
Zoo visitors are invited to celebrate Groundhog Day at the Milwaukee County Zoo and watch as Wynter makes her weather prediction at the Northwestern Mutual Family Farm, at 10:30 a.m., February 2. Visitors who have birthdays on February 2 will be admitted free to the Zoo on this day – simply present your identification at the admissions gate.
For more information, call the Zoo’s marketing and communications department at 414.256.5466.