Groundhog Bites the Mayor

xSharpshooter94 · Feb 3, 2009

Apparently when Mayor Bloomberg went to get Staten Island Chuck for his yearly appearance, the little bugger bite him. Nice.

Original story

NY Times said:

There are creatures — hibernating bears come to mind, or emergency-room doctors after an overnight shift — who don’t appreciate being roused from their slumber. Perhaps that’s what irked Chuck the Groundhog on Monday morning on Staten Island when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg tried to lure him out of his wooden shelter.

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Irving Silverstein/Staten Island Advance
Will there be six more weeks of winter? Will Chuck mind his manners at the Staten Island Zoo? Will Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg pull this stunt again? The answers are uncertain. It is clear, though, that the mayor can be persistent in the face of hostility.
Multimedia
Video of Staten Island Chuck and Mayor Bloomberg
Chuck wasn’t up for whatever it was that Mr. Bloomberg had planned for him — or for predicting how much longer winter was going to last, for that matter. And he got so annoyed at the mayor that he bit the mayor’s left hand, his sharp teeth piercing Mr. Bloomberg’s black leather gloves.

One can argue that Mr. Bloomberg sort of asked for it. As cameras rolled and the crowd took in the event — a local imitation of the Punxsutawney Phil tradition — Chuck at first refused to come out. Children chanted his name to no avail. Mr. Bloomberg seemed to realize that the reclusive rodent was spoiling the show.

He tried to lure Chuck out of his cottage with an ear of corn, but Chuck shrewdly grabbed the corn and dragged it inside to enjoy. The mayor tried again, twice, but then, seemingly out of patience, he grabbed Chuck by the belly with both hands before he could hide again and held him up in the air for everyone to see.

By then, the mayor had already been bitten.

Mr. Bloomberg did not seem upset. During an unrelated announcement later in the day — with a bandage on his left index finger — he provided only scant details about the incident involving the 3-year-old, 10-pound groundhog, formally known as Charles G. Hogg.

“Given the heightened response against terrorism, and clearly in this case a terrorist rodent who could very well have been trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, I’m not at liberty to say any more than that,” the mayor said.

It happened around 7:30 a.m. during the annual Groundhog Day ceremony at the Staten Island Zoo, in front of several dignitaries, including the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, and Senator Charles E. Schumer. No other injuries were reported.

“I made it out alive: no bites, no scratches,” Ms. Quinn said. “But I kept a little bit more of a distance from the groundhog. I knew him not to be the jolliest fellow. But I didn’t know he was nasty.”

Mary Lee Montalvo, a spokeswoman for the Staten Island Zoo, said that Chuck didn’t have a history of violent behavior and probably did what he did because he was nervous.

“He was basically concentrating on his food,” Ms. Montalvo said. “The mayor’s fingers may have just been there. He wasn’t necessarily going for the mayor.”

The groundhog had no comment.

New Yorkers — and animal lovers of the world — have no reason to worry, though. Chuck is a healthy rodent, and nothing will happen to him as a result of the attack. And according to a mayoral spokesman, Mr. Bloomberg is up to date on his tetanus shot.
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RightSideTheory · Feb 3, 2009

“Given the heightened response against terrorism, and clearly in this case a terrorist rodent who could very well have been trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, I’m not at liberty to say any more than that,” the mayor said.
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Why would he even say something like that? It just makes him look retarded. He did deserve it though, the little critter just wanted to sleep in, he didn't need to get all up in its grill.

xSharpshooter94 · Feb 3, 2009

lol the guy said it as a joke. It was funny.

RightSideTheory · Feb 3, 2009

I know it was a joke lol, I just wondered why a political figure would say something that odd to a news group.

xSharpshooter94 · Feb 3, 2009

a bit of current events and he was makin fun of them for making a big deal over something so small. It was on the front page of the Daily News for gods sake...

Groundhog Bites the Mayor

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