Marmot with the peak of Grossglockner in the background, Austria
© SeppFriedhuber/Getty Image
Did it see its shadow?
For many people, the last year has been a bit like the movie 'Groundhog Day,' with every day feeling the same. But today actually is Groundhog Day. This marmot in Austria popped up to see…a rainbow? We're not sure what that means for the weather forecast, but it feels like a good sign. (The groundhog is a type of North American marmot.) In the US, the tradition says that if the groundhog sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter are in store. If it doesn't, then we're looking at an early spring. There's no science behind it; the custom has its roots in Pennsylvania Dutch culture and was popularized by the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper in Pennsylvania in 1887—and again by the Bill Murray movie in 1993.
Related Images
Shoreline near Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Mua Caves in the Ninh Bình province of Vietnam
Firefall at Horsetail Fall, Yosemite National Park, California
Cefalù on the Tyrrhenian coast in Sicily, Italy
For Waitangi Day, the Pancake Rocks on New Zealand’s South Island
La Digue, an island in the Seychelles
Wildflowers in bloom at Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona
Bing Today Images
Alpine marmots, Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
Feb 02, 2026
Young alpine marmot
Feb 02, 2025
Marmot peeking out of its burrow
Feb 02, 2024
Alpine marmots in Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
Feb 02, 2023
Alpine marmot in Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
Feb 02, 2022
Meerkat family huddling together
Feb 02, 2020
Hoary marmot in Denali National Park, Alaska
Feb 02, 2019
Alpine marmots at Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
Feb 02, 2018
European ground squirrel
Feb 02, 2016
