In the biological station of Kharkiv University in the village of Haidari, Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region, the steppe marmot Timka III was awakened for the twentieth time today, February 2, to predict the arrival of spring. The marmot did not see its shadow, which means that spring will come early, as reported by the publication «Dumka».
«Timka says that there have been enough unstable spring weather already. That spring may only be Ukrainian. So we are waiting for our warm Ukrainian spring in six weeks,» said the woman who takes care of the marmot.
The tradition of awakening the marmot Timka and his predictions for the arrival of spring
February 2 is celebrated as Groundhog Day worldwide. Ukrainians receive weather predictions from the Kharkiv marmot Timka III on this day. If the animal wakes up and does not see its shadow, then spring will come soon.
This year, the marmot Vikentiy woke up ahead of schedule in the «12 Months» zoo near Kyiv.
According to one of the zoo workers, the early awakening of the marmot is related to the weather situation in Ukraine. Temperature fluctuations do not allow it to sleep peacefully.
