Groundhog Day

It's Groundhog Day … again. Today, Americans and Canadians rely on the prognostication skills of Punxsutawney Phil to determine if winter will hang on. Phil is a famous groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, and legend has it that if he emerges from his burrow February 2 and sees his own shadow, he'll go back to sleep for another six weeks of winter. If he doesn't, it will be an early spring. German immigrants brought the custom to America, where it was first celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in 1887. Historically, Europeans celebrated today as the first day of spring, and Germans originally watched badgers and other small animals for signs of seasonal change important to farmers. The Germans who settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries chose the area's native groundhog for this task.
The alpine marmot in today's image is a close relative of the groundhog, which is another species of marmot. Marmots are the heaviest members of the squirrel family, and the alpine species is native to central and southern Europe. Its North American cousin, the groundhog, is a highly intelligent lowland rodent that forms intricate social networks, but it's a so-so weather forecaster.
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