Wiarton Willie. Photo by The Town of South Bruce Peninsula. Photo sourced from their Facebook page.
Canada’s most famous weather-predicting groundhog has died at the age of four or five. According to caretakers, they found Willie unresponsive in his burrow on Tuesday which indicated he died in his sleep, peacefully. Just a few weeks ago Wiarton Willie predicted an early spring for Canadians, which seems to be somewhat accurate in parts of the country.
The latest Willie was an albino groundhog, which is very rare amongst the species – only about one in 10,000 are born that way. In the wild, groundhogs typically have a short lifespan of two to four years but albino groundhogs tend to live even shorter lives. The most recent groundhog came to Wiarton, Ontario from Ohio and was appointed Canada’s top weather predictor in 2023, replacing a brown groundhog that died in 2022.
According to Wiarton town officials, Willie was a very curious and charismatic groundhog who loved sunshine, eating his favourite foods, and taking long naps. While his age isn’t 100 per cent known, it’s believed he was about one year old when he arrived in Canada in late 2022. One of the longest serving groundhogs in Wiarton died in 2017 at the age of 13, which is very old for this type of animal.
While the community of Wiarton mourns, the hunt for a new Willie has begun. Officials are hoping to get another albino groundhog but recognize how tough it may be to acquire given how rare the albino species is. In a news release, town officials say they’re planning a special memorial event for Willie on September 30th which will include a procession by the groundhog statue in the community.
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