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Canada: Groundhog Day: mysterious rodent deaths and cover-ups plague ceremony
Wiarton citizens smelled a rat when Willie did not make an appearance at the virtual celebration last year
Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Wed 2 Feb 2022 05.10 EST
Every year in the Canadian town of Wiarton, devout followers of Wiarton Willie the albino groundhog learn from the rodent if the grip of winter is loosening.
The annual celebration is part of Groundhog Day, a North American tradition (and movie of the same name) which holds that if a groundhog sees its shadow after emerging from hibernation, six weeks more of winter weather are expected.
But the world of rodent-based meteorology has been shaken by revelations that Willie, a celebrity so beloved that he has statues built in his honor, died last year – and his demise was covered up by town officials.
In a break from tradition, Willie did not appear during Wiarton’s 2021 groundhog festival, which was streamed online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/02/groundhog-day-2022-canada-celebration
