Yesterday the Mayor of the town of South Bruce Peninsula announced the very unexpected death of Wiarton Willie. Surprisingly, this is a more complex matter than it may seem on the surface.

Willie was Quite Young

Prognosticating groundhogs tend to live very long lives. They are well fed, protected from predators, yes, there is the stress of February 2 but Willie was growing into the role nicely even though his rookie outing was a bit rough. Along with all his fans, we were looking forward to seeing him preside over many Groundhog Day festivals. He died of a tooth abscess.

Willie Passed Away Sometime Before February 2, 2021.

Regular readers may remember my Groundhog Day entry. The bizarre video issued by the Town of South Bruce moments before reveal time was suspicious. Willie could easily have made his prediction in the absence of cheering crowds. There could be but one conclusion for the totally Willieless presentation. It was an unnecessary and clumsy cover up.

Willie’s Replacement

Despite a 9 month effort to recruit an albino groundhog, it seems as if the understudy is a brown groundhog like all the other prognosticators. There will be a Wiarton Willie festival in 2022 and the rookie Wiarton Willie will be a brown groundhog. Mumtaz, Sam, Trevor and I will be there to offer what support we can.