Kharkiv Groundhog Tymko Predicts Warm Spring — Photo

Kharkiv four-legged forecaster groundhog Tymko III announced his prediction for the coming spring. According to him, locals can expect warm weather from mid-March.

Despite the war, the traditional fortune-telling took place at the biological scientific station of Karazin Kharkiv National University in the village of Haidary in Kharkiv Oblast.

“First of all, I am very glad to see you all here. Today is a symbolic day. We have been living a different life for almost a year. A year ago, we met here, listened to forecasts, and believed that everything would come true.

Secondly, we really live in the “Groundhog Day” movie. We wake up every morning and the first thing we do is read the news, and God forbid that we do it only in the morning, and not at night. We are extremely worried about our loved ones and strongly believe in the victory of Ukraine.

Therefore, it is very symbolic that we are distracted for a while and watch how our dear Tymko will definitely announce our victory. We are waiting for this more than a warm spring. We are waiting for a spring victory,” said Tetiana Kahanovska, rector of Karazin Kharkiv National University.

For this day Ukrposta created a special stamp “Karazin university`s Tymko predicts victory”, which was premiered during the fortune-telling ceremony.

Since the animals live in the cages of the biological station on the territory of the Velykoburlutka community in Nesterivka, all the groundhogs, including Tymko, remained under Russian occupation until the liberation in September.

Groundhogs are included in the Red List of Threatened Species that require protection. If in 1995, according to official statistics, there were 110,5 thousand groundhogs in Ukraine, now this number may not exceed 10 thousand animals.

The 20th Groundhog Day

The tradition of Groundhog Day at the Haidary biological station in Kharkiv Oblast was started in 2004 by local scientists. Since then, three groundhogs have announced the arrival of spring. The scientists themselves have not tracked any coincidences with forecasters’ predictions.