The Tomato

This marks the return of Legolas. Photo: Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum
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Students find it ‘insulting’

An Ottawa groundhog didn’t expect his prediction to become accurate a month after a virtual Groundhog’s Day celebration.

Legolas, a 10-year-old groundhog who lives in Ottawa City Hall, admits that he didn’t plan for spring to reasonably arrive after his prediction.

“He only left his burrow because he saw a snail slither away,” said Polly Pockette, a spokesperson for Legolas in an exclusive interview.

“He claims that he was more concerned about his empty stomach than the cold and that the snail put up a tough chase. Legolas’ original intention was to look out for his shadow.”

Legolas is a renowned groundhog known for his previous five-year long correct prediction streak, before getting a two-year suspension for biting the former mayor’s ankle.

Di Daniels, a fifth-year sociology student, believes that Legolas is attempting to create a publicity stunt in order to regain his lost reputation.

“The ‘Big Chomp’ as it’s colloquially known, turned public opinion against Legolas significantly,” said Daniels. “He hasn’t given much effort towards his predictions until this year when he totally got lucky because of climate change.”

“It’s actually a little insulting — Groundhog’s Day is a pivotal celebration in the city and for Legolas just to take advantage of it is pretty disrespectful.”

Pockette denies any conspiracy theories concerning Legolas and claims that his unexpectedness came from a place of insecurity.

“It’s quite the opposite,” said Pockette. “The ‘Big Chomp’ made Legolas doubt his own abilities, to the point where he stopped putting proper effort into his predictions.”

“Though he was shocked this year, he appeared to regain some of his confidence and is already looking forward to next February. Please have faith in him again.”