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Maximillian, a 7-year-old Southern three-banded armadillo, is held by zoo educator Conni Pope after 'not seeing' his shadow on a drizzly Groundhog Day at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo in 2023. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Forget groundhogs. If anything's going to see its shadow — and predict an early spring or not on Groundhog Day — it's an armadillo.
Maximillian, a 7-year-old Southern three-banded armadillo, gets his head plate scratched by zoo educator Conni Pope. The Baton Rouge Zoo has gone so far as to reimagine the holiday, calling it Armadillo Day instead, similar to the ongoing tradition in Texas to celebrate the burrowing animal in contrast to celebrations of spring in the northeast. "All they really see is shadows and light," said Baton Rouge Zoo education curator Jennifer Shields of armadillos and their very own Maximillian, or Max.
Max is a 9-year-old Southern three-banded armadillo that predicts an early spring (or not) in Baton Rouge. These armadillos, characterized by their long pink tongues, long, hard backs and hairy legs, have extremely poor eyesight, according to Shields. A post shared by BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (@batonrougezoo) "I like to say it's like driving with a windshield covered in Vaseline," Shields said.
Last year, after being gently placed on the ground by zoo educator Conni Pope, Max spent 10 minutes running about in a comically dainty fashion, showcasing a common armadillo walk. Last year on the second of February, a bitter cold front brought rain and nothing but thick, gray clouds. Unsurprisingly, Max didn't see his shadow, thus predicting an early spring in 2024.
This went against the iconic Groundhog Day superstar Punxsutawney Phil's prediction. In Pennsylvania, the famous groundhog ambled out of his burrow and was met by his shadow, thereby calling for six more weeks of winter in 2024. Sure.
But according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, over the past decade, the much-lauded groundhog has only been right about 30% of the time . Maximillian, a 7-year-old Southern three-banded armadillo, gets a pat from zoo visitor Finn O'Neal, 5, of Geismar, after 'not seeing' his shadow on Groundhog Day 2023. Finn's dad Chris O'Neal is at right.
The Baton Rouge Zoo staff, on the other hand, said they have historically had a success rate closer to 75% with their animals. Three years in a row, a Baton Rouge Zoo animal has predicted an early spring. In 2022, Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter, where Max did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring.
The NOAA agreed with Max. In 2023, Phil saw his shadow again, predicting an extended winter, where Max the armadillo and Reign the giraffe in Baton Rouge both did not see their shadows, predicting an early spring. The NOAA agreed with the Louisiana animals.
In 2024, Phil, Max and Reign did not see shadows. The NOAA agreed with them in predicting an early spring. Take that, Phil.
Will 2025 be different?.
