Groundhog’s Day has been celebrated every year on February 2 since 1887. So what exactly is Groundhog’s Day and why are we, as a nation, so obsessed with the groundhog itself? Well, according to www.groundhog.org, Punxsutawney Phil is the one and only true weather forecasting groundhog. Each year, on February 2, Phil pokes his little head out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania and “predicts” the weather for the rest of winter. As legend would have it, “If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.”

Groundhogs (Marmota monax) are also known as woodchucks and are often seen by University at Buffalo students in their travels around campus. If you’re not sure if you’ve spotted a groundhog before, they are almost unmistakable bumbling little creatures with short coarse brown hair, short legs and tail, approximately 15” in length and weight 12 – 15 pounds. Groundhogs like to burrow and they are one of the few creatures that truly hibernate during the winter.

During the fall, when running around campus, I would often spot the same groundhog poking its head up from its den under a tree along Hadley Rd. I saw it so much at the same times of the day that I started to wonder if others had encountered the hysterical fat little beast. As I began to ask around, it seemed as though every UB student had their own story about the woodchuck.

UB junior Aaron Beauregard said, “One time, I was running from Hadley over to my class and just as I was about to cross the road, I stopped dead in my tracks. At the corner where the stop sign is, he popped up.”

“There was a stare-down,” Beauregard said. “Then we both continued on our separate ways, but there was a definite moment there.”

UB junior Donald Paradiso, relates his personal experience with a groundhog he likes to refer to as “Rupert.” Paradiso says, “I saw a groundhog almost every day last semester on my way to school. They were always hanging out on that median between the J.J. Audubon and Governors. One time I even saw some of them invading the area surrounding the Natural Sciences Complex… I named one Rupert, because that’s the kind of name a groundhog should have.”

UB senior Kristin Johnson says, “Sometimes when I go running, these furry little creatures run across my path and scare me, but then I just get a laugh about it because they are so small and harmless.”

Johnson isn’t the only UB student who perceives these animals to be a bit disconcerting. And to a certain extent, those who fear these funny looking animals are not completely off their rockers. According to The Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the groundhog’s jaws are, “exceptionally strong.” Although, unless rabid, they have certainly never been known to attack people. These rodents tend to prefer a diet of the wooden variety.

UB sophomore Dann Rya, comments, “I haven’t really had any ‘groundhog experiences’ per se, but I have seen Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. It sucks, but you always end up watching it.”

The woodchuck, groundhog, marmot, or whatever you would personally like to call it, has successfully invaded our campus and thus the everyday lives of its students. As the groundhogs begin to come out of hibernation and as we, the residents of Buffalo, NY, await another inevitable six weeks of winter, look forward to spring on campus when you can again wave to your plump little wood-munching friend, the groundhog.