Asante, Chehaw’s weather-predicting meerkat, makes Groundhog Day call for an early spring

ALBANY — Winter cold’s been pretty scarce already, but Southwest Georgia’s official spring prognosticator says the region can look for an early spring.

A legend that originally involved bears in Europe has it that if a groundhog sees its shadow on Candlemas (Feb. 2), six more weeks of cold weather are ahead. If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, folklore says, spring will arrive early.

In Pennsylvania, it’s groundhog Punxsutawney Phil who is seen as the official predictor of spring’s arrival. In Atlanta, the job belongs to Gen. Beauregard Lee, also a groundhog.

But in Southwest Georgia, the prognostication is made by a meerkat, which belongs to the mongoose family and can be found in Africa. Asante, one of four brothers at Chehaw, is usually the first each morning to climb the termite mound at the park’s exhibit to serve sentry duty. As a sub for a groundhog, whether he sees his shadow on Groundhog Day serves to let folks know within the region what to expect in temperatures for the next six weeks.

On Thursday, Asante climbed the mound after exiting the meerkats’ night box and saw no shadow. This was Asante’s sixth year predicting the arrival of spring. Only once has he seen his shadow and, for the last four years, his predictions have been accurate.

Asante’s sentry duty serves a more pragmatic purpose for the zoo’s meerkats (a group of meerkats is known as a mob, clan or gang). Chehaw Director of Education Jackie Entz said the meerkats are always on the lookout for predators. The sentry alerts the rest of the mob to danger. While sentry duty is shared throughout the day, Asante usually takes the first lookout each day.

“They have one warning sound to signal dangers from the air and another to warn of predators on the ground,” she said. “As one meerkat stands watch, the others run around and play and look for food.”

Earlier Thursday morning, Beauregard Lee did not see his shadow and also predicted an early spring for Georgia.

Punxsutawney Phil, meanwhile, did see his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter weather.

For those who prefer a more scientific approach to long-range weather forecasts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that Punxsutawney Phil and his ancestors, which have been in the business since 1887, have about a 50 percent accuracy rate.

NOAA’s three-month outlook posted in late January, meanwhile, calls for a likelihood of above normal temperatures in Southwest Georgia and below-normal precipitation for the period.