[Clutch Martin]

This is not the first time a groundhog has died on Groundhog Day. One year in Pennsylvania Punxsutawney Phil did not come out of his hutch. Upon closer inspection it was found that Punxsutawney Phil had passed away before the customary prediction ceremony.

I thought that was kind of humorous when it happened.

Punxsutawney Phil was almost immediately replaced by a concurrent Punxsutawney Phil and probably several others over the years.

[outofsalt]

"'The whole thing was insane': Bill de Blasio on dropping groundhog (Staten Island Chuck) that later died"

The Gurdian does a soft shoe around the event in 2014 where de Blasio killed "Chuck" (who was actually Charlotte).