By Nicole Rosenthal

Published Feb. 2, 2026, 3:25 p.m. ETComments

This groundhog has found a new borough.

For-hire Pennsylvania groundhog “Wolfgang” spotted his shadow at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park in front of a crowd of ecstatic hipsters Saturday, whispering his weather prediction to perennial mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa — who claimed he’d don his own groundhog costume next year.

The woodchuck predicted six more weeks of frigid wintery temperatures to the delight of hundreds in Williamsburg who chanted Sliwa’s name and even bid for the Republican’s autograph.

“You’re glazing me!” he greeted the crowd, quoting his infamous one-liner on the debate stage to now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year. “I want to thank all of you … for maintaining this American tradition.”

The offbeat gathering, now in its second year, is the brainchild of political journalist Riley Callanan, 26, who told The Post that she shelled out $2,250 to rent the varmint from an animal rental service — and invited the animal-loving Sliwa as a “shot in the dark” due to his “New York icon” status among youngsters.

The Guardian Angels founder also announced a twist on next year’s event — in the vein of viral “look-alike” contests that have emerged in the Big Apple — after a handful of animal welfare activists crashed the Saturday afternoon shindig.

“Next year, I’m going to come and I’m going to audition with many of you and become a human [groundhog] next year to determine the shadow,” Sliwa suddenly declared after speaking with his “fellow animal welfare friends” at the event.

Th groundhog “look-alike” contest will be a “nice pre-show ceremony” to Brooklyn’s new boozy bar crawl tradition, he said.

However, Callanan told The Post that she’s still “hoping” to use a real woodchuck.

Callanan previously told The Post she was inspired to begin organizing a yearly Groundhog Day tradition as a “silly way to party” in the “darkest time of the year.”

“It’s just a wholesome reason to keep fun alive,” she said.

Animal rights activists, including those from anti-horse carriage advocacy group NYCLASS and Humane Long Island, had urged organizers hours before the event to cancel over animal cruelty concerns.

“Groundhogs naturally hibernate in the winter, and forcing one into a stressful, unnatural environment with a drunk and raucous crowd of potentially thousands of people following a bar crawl is cruel and dangerous,” NYCLASS said in a statement.

“Past NYC Groundhog Day events have already resulted in injuries — and even the death of a groundhog after being dropped,” the group said, citing the fatal fumble of Staten Island Chuck after it fell out of the grip of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Sliwa, who has been outspoken on animal welfare issues like converting the city’s animal shelters to a no-kill policy, said Thursday he wasn’t sure where the groundhog had come from — but insisted he wouldn’t be holding the critter himself.

“I’m well-aware that I am not a skilled groundhog handler,” Sliwa said.

“I’m there simply to see if the groundhog sees its shadow. … I will certainly not make the mistake that Bill de Blasio did.”

Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, said the young organizers agreed not to use another live animal in the wintertime tradition after advocates blasted the event on social media, but Callanan argued they “did [that] to appease the protesters … and am still hoping to use a real groundhog next year.

“It was great to meet the handler and hear how well the groundhog was cared for,” she explained. “He was rescued as a baby after his family was killed in a backhoe accident and lives in the handlers’ greenhouse.

“His favorite treat is a PB&J and I’m glad his handler gave him one to munch on during the ceremony.”