Mayor defends keeping groundhog weather guesser Wiarton Willie's death a secret
The mayor of a small Ontario town defended its decision to keep a famous weather-prognosticating groundhog's death a secret for about a year, saying she was protecting the "Wiarton Willie brand."
Janice Jackson, the mayor of the town of South Bruce Peninsula, said the albino rodent died "quite a while before the last Groundhog Day," but didn't specify when, other than it was before its typical hibernation period in 2020.
"Wiarton Willie is everything to Wiarton and South Bruce Peninsula," Jackson told The Canadian Press in an interview on Thursday.
The town publicly acknowledged Willie's death this week -- months after he did not make an appearance on Groundhog Day -- and said a brown groundhog will step into his role next year.
Wiarton Willie is an albino groundhog who fictitiously predicts whether spring comes early or not depending on if he "sees" his shadow each Groundhog Day. The February festival in Wiarton, a community of about 2,000 residents, is a major tourist attraction for the area.
Jackson said the town wanted to have an albino groundhog "understudy" in hand before announcing Willie's death and "passing the crown" to the new Willie.
But they never found one.
"Timing is everything," Jackson said.
"Wiarton Willie has put us on the international map and we're very, very protective of the Wiarton Willie brand. And we were faced with a conundrum, clearly one that took us by surprise, and we had to plot a path forward the best way that we could to protect our town."
Willie died in his sleep of an abscessed tooth, Jackson said.
The town made a conscious decision to keep the death under wraps, Jackson said, hopeful they could find a replacement. Jackson said they got word out to zoos and trappers across Canada and the United States. But they ran out of time -- groundhogs hole up for the winter while they hibernate.
"We just couldn't come up with a white groundhog," she said.
"As soon as our window of opportunity closed, then we let the public know because the last thing we want to do is come forward on prediction morning with the brown groundhog when Wiarton Willie is the only albino prognosticator in the world -- and we didn't want to do that to our community."
Rumours of Willie's death had swirled since last Groundhog Day after the town released a video that showed the mayor tossing a fur hat and making the annual prediction about how much longer winter would last, without the animal in sight. There was no in-person event due to the pandemic. The Canadian Press asked repeatedly about Willie's whereabouts that day, but the town did not answer.
When asked if she could have told the public earlier, Jackson simply said "no."
When the last Willie died in 2017, his understudy was waiting in the wings. So the town held a prompt funeral while "passing the torch" to the new Willie in front of hundreds at Blue Water Park next to the Wiarton Willie statue.
The town infamously kept another Willie death a secret in 1999 for about a week until Groundhog Day. His caretaker, Sam Brouwer, discovered that Willie froze to death. The backup Willie had died several months earlier, so they were without a white groundhog.
The groundhog committee decided to host a funeral for Willie, and placed a previously dead and stuffed white groundhog in a casket and unveiled it on Groundhog Day, drawing sobs from children in the audience.
The mayor said she hopes the recent publicity of Willie's death will spark sightings of albino groundhogs all over in the world so they can "adopt" another white rodent, but admitted the timing now makes it nearly impossible to find a white groundhog in time for Groundhog Day.
"They disappear till the spring, unfortunately," she said.
Next year's Groundhog Day events in early February 2022 will be held in person.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A man was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.