Early spring ahead, four-legged forecaster predicts at EcoTarium Groundhog Day ceremony

Veer Mudambi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Updated ·2 min read

WORCESTER - The EcoTarium was abuzz on Friday as visitors, including state and city officials, flocked to the museum on Groundhog Day to hear from the resident rodent meteorologist.

Mayor Joe Petty reads a proclamation at the EcoTarium declaring that there will not be six more weeks of winter. Cornelia the Woodchuck (also called a groundhog) had not seen her shadow earlier that day. She was a diva for the event and would not unwrap herself from her blanket and leave her Amazon box. Also present were, from left, EcoTarium Board Cahir Joe Bartulis, City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, EcoTarium President and EO Noreen Smith and Hank Camosse.

“Like her ancestors before her, Cornelia has acquired the fascinating ability to predict the arrival of spring with 50% accuracy and her prognostication will be shared and celebrated across the City of Worcester,” said Mayor Joseph Petty.

As declared by Cornelia the groundhog, Worcester can look forward to an early spring, as she did not, according to the scroll read by Petty, see her shadow.

After Mayor Joe Petty read a proclamation declaring that there will not be six more weeks of winter, EcoTarium prognosticator Cornelia the Woodchuck did roll onto her back but still never left her box.
After Mayor Joe Petty read a proclamation declaring that there will not be six more weeks of winter, EcoTarium prognosticator Cornelia the Woodchuck did roll onto her back but still never left her box.

Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, Joseph Bartulis Jr., chairman of EcoTarium Board of Trustees, and Henry Camosse of Camosse Masonry and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, were also present.

This is the second year that Cornelia has presided over Groundhog Day at the EcoTarium since she arrived from an animal rehabilitation center in Ohio when she was 6 months old.

Her arrival also marked the return of the Groundhog Day tradition at the EcoTarium, which had not been held since before the pandemic and is now open by invitation to local school groups. The event was live streamed on Facebook to a number of local schools, with a visiting group from Marlborough preschool Cottage Children’s Center.

Despite her large audience, Cornelia spent most of the event asleep, on her back with all four feet in the air, which EcoTarium Manager of Zoology Kelsey Castrogiovanni said groundhogs do when they are particularly relaxed.

Cornelia was not the only EcoTarium resident to receive visitors. Surrounding the groundhog exhibit were a number of small habitats labeled Animal Ambassadors, who accompany handlers to educational programs.

“We love this event. It’s a chance to focus on the animals here and how important they are,” said Ecotarium President Noreen Smith, gesturing to the other animals. “It teaches kids to care (about wildlife).”

Like all the animals at the Ecotarium, Cornelia was deemed not releasable, having become too comfortable around humans. “She was rescued so young that she learned to not fear people, dogs or cats, which is not great if you’re living out in the wild,” said Castrogiovanni. “Especially in their normal habitat, which is a lot of times our backyards.”

The tradition of Groundhog Day dates back to a Germanic ceremony celebrated on Feb. 2, originally centered around a badger, and was unsurprisingly called Badger Day. German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania later switched to the more common groundhog and has spread throughout the country as a beloved tradition.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: EcoTarium in Worcester celebrates Groundhog Day with early spring due