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You may recall that Central Jersey went without its celebrity groundhog last Feb. 2 due to Milltown Mel's untimely death.
Organizers then looked far and wide for replacement cousins for this year.
"After months of trying to solve our dilemma, your Milltown Mel wranglers are sorry to report that we are unable to have a groundhog available for this year's festivities," organizers wrote on Facebook.
"The new groundhog we originally scheduled to have made his debut is currently not allowed to be here according to a state of New Jersey statute. We have been trying to find a replacement that the state will approve of, but we could not make it happen in time for this year."
They did not offer more details on the state law barring the new groundhog's presence.
Milltown Mel was among several New Jersey groundhogs who have followed in the footsteps of the famous Punxsutawney Phil, who's due to climb out of his home in search of his shadow at 6 a.m. Thursday at Gobbler's Knob.
When groundhogs can't see their shadow due to overcast weather, spring comes early, the folklore goes. If they're scared by their shadow and retreat back to the burrow winter lasts six weeks longer.
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