Groundhog Day: Shubenacadie Sam says early spring, Lucy the ...

Two very different weather-watching critters in Nova Scotia had two very different Groundhog Day predictions Friday morning.

At the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, Nova Scotia’s most famous groundhog said no to six more weeks of winter.

At first, Shubenacadie Sam took a bit of coaxing to emerge from her hut shortly after 8 a.m.

“Not surprisingly, (she’s) probably more keen to stay in her warm den,” remarked Andrew Boyne, director of wildlife with Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

When Sam did finally emerge, she only stayed out for a moment before hiding in a nearby shrub.

But that was enough time to make her prediction, Boyne said.

“Although that was a quick, fleeting duck into the Christmas trees, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Sam did not see her shadow, which is an indication that spring is on its way,” he said.

“So we can expect an early spring this year.”

The announcement was followed by some cheers and boos from the crowd.

Sam is the first groundhog in North America to make a prediction due to the province’s Atlantic time zone.

But there’s still hope for people who love winter: more than 300 kilometres away in Barrington, N.S., a very different animal made a very different prediction.

Lucy the Lobster, a six-pound, 25-year-old crustacean, crawled out of the ocean and immediately saw her shadow, meaning winter will last another six weeks.

While there were some boos from the crowd, there were also a couple of cheers, including one spectator who cried: “Yay, more lobster season!”

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Lucy’s prediction kicked off the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl in Barrington, which is considered the lobster capital of Canada.

Last year, the two animals agreed there will be six more weeks of winter.

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