Stumptown Fil Promises An Early Spring, Has Been Wrong Before

PORTLAND, OR —He's almost 11-years-old and his ability to gather wood has earned him the title of "branch manager" at the Oregon Zoo. His name is Filbert aka Stumptown Fil. He's a beaver who lives at the Oregon Zoo.

While he is adorable and industrious, nowhere in his resume is a degree in meteorology yet on Tuesday, Oregon turned to him to find out what the weather's going to be like.

"Groundhogs like Punxsutawney Phil are fine for their part of the country," a keeper in the zoo’s North America section, Christina Parr, said. "Here in the Northwest, though, we are beaver believers."

Most Oregonians know that whatever Fil or any other animal says about seeing their shadow, chances are that it will rain until July 5th. It s the rainy season, those glorious nine months of rain, that make the other three months so green and beautiful.

As for Fil, he's still relatively new to this game and is still learning his way.

His first year forecast as 2020.

He did not see his shadow, promising an early spring. One month later, the zoo – and pretty much the rest of the metro region – had to shut down because of a snow and ice storm.

Parr is the first to admit that weather forecasting might not be Fil's strongpoint.

"You might be better off flipping a coin," she said. Parr then decided to throw some shade on a holiday dedicated to whether or not certain furry animals see sun or shade, adding that Punxsutawny Phil doesn't have such a great track record either