On Groundhog Day, February 2, the fluffy forecaster Timka III made his spring prediction at his native biological steppe station in the Velykoburluk community of the Kupiansk district in the Kharkiv region. The details of his predictions were shared by the university's press service.
The university reported that Timka forecasted an early start to spring.
"He says that this year spring never really left. It is here and will be. Spring will definitely come. However, he also mentioned that there might be some minor frosts, and a bit of snow could still cover the ground. But spring will come," — translated Timka's words the head of the biological station of Karazin University, Vladimir Grubnik.
Timka III did not need to be woken up — this year, he was awake on Groundhog Day. Scientists explained that the unusual warmth of winter affected the animals' behavior. The constant vibrations from Russian shelling also disturbed his sleep.
"For the third year in a row, the animals have been living in stressful conditions and cannot fully enter hibernation," — explained the zoologists.
Due to his early activity, it was unsafe for Timka to travel to the biological station of Karazin University in Haidary, so he made his prediction remotely from his home.
Recall that on February 1, the media reported on a study by American scientists who analyzed the ability of groundhogs to predict the arrival of spring and compiled a ranking of the furry forecasters based on the accuracy of their predictions. Phil from Punxsutawney, known from the 1993 film "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray, also made the top.
On January 31, meteorologists made a weather forecast for the early days of February and noted that a young anticyclone would bring a trend of decreasing temperatures in Ukraine.