Nora – the most famous groundhog in Norristown

Nora came to Elmwood Park Zoo from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, an accredited wildlife rehabilitation facility, in Hampton Bays, New York. She had suffered an injury to her back leg as a result of being hit by a car. Since she could no longer survive on her own in the wild, she needed to be placed in a facility where she would not only be taken care of, but also where she could act as an education ambassador for native wildlife.

With so many groundhogs (woodchucks and whistle pigs are the same animal) living in our area, you might think we could just pluck one from the wild. It is actually against the law to take indigenous or native animals from the wild. Only licensed wildlife rehabilitators are permitted to accept injured or orphaned animals. Rehabilitation staff go through training and are licensed by US Fish and Wildlife. As an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo, Elmwood Park Zoo is allowed to accept these animals once rehabilitation is completed, and they are deemed non-releasable to go back into the wild. All of our birds of prey, including eagles, owls, vultures and hawks, are animals that came from rehabilitation facilities.

Groundhogs are large rodents with sharp claws used for digging and large incisor teeth that continue to grow throughout their lives. They are herbivores, eating grass, seeds, leaves, flowers and berries. At Elmwood Park Zoo, Nora enjoys a diet of carrots, yams, lettuce, apples berries and special rodent biscuits. Her very favorite food is peanut butter. In the wild, groundhogs fatten themselves up throughout the fall so that they can hibernate or sleep through the winter.

Groundhogs have their own special day – Groundhog Day, February 2. This day is the combination of beliefs from different cultures. Early February is midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Many cultures have marked this day as an important holiday. Early Christians called it Candlemas Day. The ancient Celtic celebration was called Imbolog; an important point on the agricultural calendar. Superstition arose that if the weather was fair on Imbolog, the second half of the winter would be cold and stormy, but if the weather was cold and overcast or stormy, the second half of the winter would be mild. The Romans learned these traditional beliefs from the Celts and brought them to what is now Germany. The Germans started relying on the European hedgehog as the predictor of an extended winter and watched to see if it would see its shadow. When German immigrants brought these beliefs with them to Pennsylvania, they had no European hedgehog to watch, so they substituted a groundhog. In Pennsylvania, if the groundhog, upon waking up from mid-Winter hibernation emerges and sees its shadow, it will pop back into its burrow for six more weeks of winter. If the day is cloudy, it remains out, as the weather will be moderate.

Elmwood Park Zoo will be celebrating Groundhog Day this year with Nora – the most famous groundhog in Norristown. Our event will be held on February 2 at noon. Although Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction at the pre-dawn hour, Nora is not as much a prognosticator as she is a procrastinator, and prefers to arise at a much more acceptable hour. We encourage you to come to Elmwood Park Zoo on February 2 at noon to meet Nora and watch as she makes her own prediction.