Pawnee the Donkey predicts early spring; challenges Punxsutawney Phil
Pawnee the Donkey challenged Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of more winter weather by picking oats over sweet feed, forecasting an early spring. Pawnee staff photo by Caden Senn/Adobe stock groundhog photo
Bertram’s own weather whiz, Pawnee the Donkey, has directly challenged nationally-known groundhog Punxsutawney Phil after predicting an early spring at this year’s Donkey Day on Monday, Feb. 2. This comes only hours after the famous groundhog saw his shadow and called for six more weeks of winter.
Pawnee, a 22-year-old miniature donkey, chose to snack on oats over sweet feed at the annual event. As the Donkey Day tradition goes, his pick signifies a forecast for an early spring rather than a longer winter.
Pawnee was cheered on by the students and faculty of Bertram Elementary at a special ceremony before the school day began.
Pawnee has been the area’s trusted forecaster for 17 years and has proven to have roughly 80 percent accuracy in his weather predictions. By comparison, the Pennsylvania-native groundhog has recorded less than 40 percent accuracy in his supposed 140 years of life.
“(Pawnee) loves coming up here every year,” owner Patsy Oertli told DailyTrib. “We just go grab him, blow the hay off a bit, put him in the trailer, and he just has lots of fun.”
Bertram Elementary Principal Christine Hoffman echoed Oertli’s sentiments, praising the donkey’s work for the community. As tradition, Hoffman also gave Pawnee a customary kiss to seal the prediction.
“It’s a fun way to build not just tradition, but something special and unique to our community,” Hoffman told DailyTrib. “We always have a good turnout, and our kids look forward to it every year.”
For his gracious performance and continued efforts in giving the Burnet County community the right weather predictions, Pawnee was given a peppermint before returning to home.