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marmot News

marmot News From AOL News

Groundhog Day 2011: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Quick End to Winter

By Ben MuessigFeb 2nd 2011 – 12:00AM
Jeff Swensen, Getty Images

Jeff Swensen, Getty Images

Bummed out by this winter's weather? Well, the worst of it will be over soon -- at least according to a rodent in Pennsylvania. It's the one day of the year when we ignore Doppler radar, mute the weather guy and put our trust in a marmot instead of the weather widgets on our computer screens. Today is Groundhog Day, a...

Background on marmot

The marmots are generally large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota, of which there are 15 species. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas, such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in Europe and northwestern Asia; the Rocky Mountains, Black Hills, Cascades, and Sierra Nevada in North America; and the Deosai Plateau in Pakistan and Ladakh in India.

more at wikipedia »