GAINESVILLE, Texas — Expecting a north Texan to celebrate Groundhog Day may be like expecting a northerner to plan a party for Texas Independence Day.

There are no groundhogs in Texas, though the day appears on many calendars and is celebrated throughout the United States and Canada and parts of Australia on Feb. 2 each year — midway between the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year) and the Vernal Equinox (the longest day).

A popular Bill Murray movie, “Groundhog Day” further promoted the holiday in 1993.

“But there are no groundhogs in this region,” said Susan Kleven, director of the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville.

The closest thing to a groundhog in Texas would be a Black Tailed Prairie Dog, she said.

So the Prairie Dog Day celebration was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Friday at the zoo’s gift shop, consisting of a breakfast for Gainesville Chamber of Commerce members.

Traditionally, the groundhog emerges from a burrowed hole Feb. 2 in the northeastern part of the United States. If it does not see its shadow, winter is nearly over. If the groundhog sees a shadow it will scurry back into its hole and winter is expected to continue for six weeks.

There is no prairie dog town at the zoo, and one will be brought in from another location. The prairie dog, “Red River Rye,” will have to be held up to see his shadow — unlike the famous “Punxsutawney Phil” in Punxsutawney, Pa., for whom hordes of anxious observers await to emerge from his habitat.

It’s a unique idea for the north Texas area, though the concept is catching on where prairie dogs are more prevalent, Kleven said. Proclamations were issued by cities in New Mexico and Colorado in recent years, and this year schools, organizations and communities are getting into the act.

Though prairie dogs may not be seen often in Cooke County, they are found in smaller numbers one county over. Small populations of prairie dogs today may be found as close by as Montague County. The closest Texas prairie dog town is located on the upper northeast side of MacKenzie Park in Lubbock.

In 1900, a huge prairie dog settlement was reported on the high plains of Texas. It extended 100 miles in one direction and 250 miles in the other, she said. An estimated 400 million prairie dogs lived in this “town.”

Prairie dogs now cover about 1 percent of their original habitat, and the state of Texas has a watch program to help save the species.

Kleven said Prairie Dog Day, as much as it is a diversionary opportunity for the zoo, is a chance to spread the message of wildlife conservation.

She said the prairie dog is “directly responsible for the health and perpetuation of 150 species of plants and animals.”

“They’re pretty nifty critters,” Kleven added, noting the rodent’s ability to aerate soil.

The prairie dog is also prey for several species of mammals and hawks, as well as its equally rare naturally enemy, the Black-Footed Ferret.

“Prairie dogs were maligned by ranchers for many years, as they were afraid the holes dug would cause their cattle to break their legs,” Kleven said. “There was a massive movement to exterminate the prairie dog.”

She said in absence of the rodents mesquite trees began to cover the open prairie. As a chain reaction, the mesquite trees provided shade, killed grass and left the soil wide open for an invasion of weeds.

“So the prairie dogs actually kept the plains healthy for cows,” Kleven said.

Many today consider the prairie dog as a “varmint” and not a benefit, and others consider it a target. A video titled “Dog Be Gone” volumes 1 and 2 promote methods of exterminating the prairie dogs. The prairie dog is not on a list of federally protected animals.

Prairie dogs are typically fat and have broad, rounded heads, hairy tails and short legs. They are yellowish in color, with darker ears and a whitish body, with slight variations among the five species in North America.



Andy Hogue writes for Gainesville (Texas) Daily Register.





On the Net:

Frank Buck Zoo: www.frankbuckzoo.com

History of Groundhog Day: www.groundhog.org

Information on Prairie Dogs: www.gprc.org/Keystone_species.html

State watch program for Prairie Dogs: www2.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/texas_nature_trackers/black_tailed_prairie_dog



Reporter Andy Hogue writes for Gainesville (Texas) Daily Register.