Groundhog Bites Bloomberg After Getting Teased (VIDEO)

Yesterday being Groundhog Day, New Yorck City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had to schlep out to Staten Island and lure a captive groundhog out of a shack in order to wave it at locals.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about everybody's favorite marmots: "They prefer to retreat to their burrows when threatened; if the burrow is invaded, the groundhog tenaciously defends itself with its two large incisors and front claws."

So let's say you saw a New York politician coming at you with black gloves and a Twinkie. You'd be confused. You'd feel, maybe, threatened. And you'd retreat into your burrow, readying your two large incisors for a referendum on human flesh.

And that's what happened. Charles G. Hogg, Staten Island's own groundhog, sunk 'em into Bloomberg yesterday.

"He got my finger pretty good," Bloomberg allowed, as he held the recalcitrant groundhog up in the air and declared spring on the way.The Groundhog Day mayor-nipping came just three days after Bloomberg chomped 15% out of the zoo's budget, reducing it to $1.3 million from $1.6 million.

Sticking tongue firmly in cheek, the mayor, who was wearing black leather gloves, said his injuries weren't life-threatening and made clear he didn't buy the revenge theory.He thought it might be more geopolitical.

"Clearly in this case, a terrorist rodent that could very well have been trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. I'm not at liberty to say anything more than that," he said.

Groundhog Day

Comments

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

02:39 PM on 02/05/2009

...how much hog
could a groundhog grind
if a groundhog could grind hog

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

02:35 PM on 02/05/2009

...just another man-eating groundhog story.

[SmolderingRuin]

06:39 PM on 02/04/2009

Pretty risky behavior to repeatedly stick your hand in its house, and try to drag out a large, frightened rodent with BIG front teeth, Twinkie or not. The mayor was pretty good-natured about it though. And just in passing, isn't it about time this ridiculous custom was abandoned? (21st century and all that)

[RiyazGuerra]

03:45 PM on 02/04/2009

Too bad Chuck didn't take a finger.

[karela]

08:55 PM on 02/03/2009

If they want the mayor to pick up a ground hog next year, they should make sure that they have a tame one. That little fellow was way too active and I thought the mayor was pretty brave to keep trying to pick him up. I wouldn't have wanted to put my hand inside that hutch with a critter that didn't want to come out. Bravery beyond the call of duty mayor!

[coco51]

07:49 PM on 02/04/2009

please stop the "bravery" stuff. Every Mayor in NYC has done in the 30 years I've lived here. Bloomberg should so some bravery by taking care of NYCers instead participating in this trivial over-rated custom. Can someone please explain how is this science? I couldn't see my shadow because it was overcast, a goundhog could with it's fur practically scraping the ground? Furthermore the poor creature was in a dollhouse, why wasn't he coming out of the ground? isn't that when he'd have seen his shadow if one is to believe this lore? And a TWINKIE? why is a groundhog eating twinkies?
I agree with RiyazGuerra by going one further, Chuck should have taken the whole arm. Maybe then the Mayor would understand how crippled his constituents are feeling right now.