Each year groundhogs enjoy 15 minutes of fame—and then most people proceed to forget about them completely. Held every year on February 2, Groundhog Day is a unique U.S. celebration in which people turn to these mammals to predict the weather: If the groundhog sees its shadow on that day, lore has it there will be six more weeks of winter. But what else is there to know about these annual celebrities? Here are some little-known facts.

What's more, groundhogs have an extensive range and can be found all over North America.

"[Groundhogs are] the most widely distributed marmot of all of them, [with a range stretching] as far south as northern Alabama to northern Canada—and some