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Unlike other weather predicting groundhogs like Punxsutawney Phil (from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania), Willie is an albino.
There has been more than one Willie over the years; famously in 2001 the Willie at the time was found dead in his burrow. That year's festival became a memorial for the rodent, though his keeper claims that Willie provided his prediction before his death. He was replaced the following year by another albino family member.