German immigrants brought their winter ceremonies from the old country in the 1800’s to the United States that eventually morphed into our current Groundhog Day festivities. The 1993 eponymously named movie revived interest, based on hijinks and minor frustrating time travel in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania. Countless other small communities have developed their own versions with their own captive groundhogs over the decades. Now at least one town in Milltown, New Jersey has developed a crisis.

The New York Times reported on January 14 that the groundhogs used there for the ceremonies have been aging out and not procreating proficiently enough. Attempts to import young groundhogs from other states have been stymied due to rabies outbreaks and prohibitions against carrying them across state lines. Left unsaid in the article is some practical alternatives to smuggling a fledgling chuckling (the name of a baby groundhog – see you learned something new from this blog) into New Jersey.

Perhaps Milltown could create a convincing hand puppet to work in a live groundhog’s place. Or place the entire ceremony in front of a green screen and CGI a replacement chuckling instead. Or best yet, the entire town could just remain indoors wrapped in a warm quilt with a cup of hot chocolate and rewatch the Bill Murray movie again and again. That will keep them safe from rabies!