Punxsutawney Phil Becomes a Father

Phil has welcomed two newborn groundhogs with his partner, Phyllis

Having children later in life is quite common at the moment, and Punxsutawney Phil has now joined the ranks. He and his partner Phyllis have now welcomed two newborns into the world - not bad for a "138-year-old" groundhog! The pair and their offspring are based at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library in a climate-controlled enclosure, where they can be visited by the public.

Now that they are a family of four, plans are underway to expand the groundhogs' habitat and provide them with more space. Thomas Dunkel, President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle (the group in charge of the Groundhog Day ceremony) told reporters that these were the pair's first babies together, and executive Director Marcy Galando added that the club had not been prepared for the youngsters as no-one knew Phyllis was pregnant.

The gender of the pups is still unknown, so names have not been chosen for them at present - but the one thing we do know is that they will not be inheriting the family business. After all, there is no need for succession when your father never dies.