Groundhog Dropped by de Blasio Died of Injuries, Zoo Allegedly Covered it Up
In what may be the New York Postiest scoop ever, the New York Post reported Thursday that Chuck, the groundhog dropped by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, died a week after the incident of internal injuries, and that the zoo has been engaged in a “cover up” to conceal the fact from the public.
The Post alleges that the zoo switched Staten Island Chuck, the marquee groundhog, for “Charlotte,” fearing Chuck would bite the mayor; bad news for Charlotte, as the towering de Blasio famously dropped her. Charlotte was found dead in her cage one week later with injuries consistent with a fall of six feet, according to a necropsy. The zoo then conspired with staffers to keep the information from the Mayor’s office, which only found out about Charlotte’s death from the tabloid.
Some choice passages from the article:
“I was told he died of old age, that he went to that big farm in the sky,” said Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-SI).
The zoo doesn’t make public that it has stand-in groundhogs to protect the “groundhog brand,” insiders said.
Ever the watchdog for the little guy, the Post was careful to remind readers how much public funding this lying zoo receives to lie.
From WaPo:
A statement to The Washington Post from zoo spokesperson Brian Morris noted that the necropsy, performed by a Staten Island Zoo veterinarian, “revealed sudden internal injuries,” but the “exact cause of the injuries could not be determined.” Morris added that the injuries were “internal injuries that the animal most likely sustained sometime during the week after Groundhog Day, potentially overnight while in its exhibit.”
In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Morris gave a little bit more context on the series of events leading to “Chuck’s” death.
[h/t New York Post]
[Image via lev radin / Shutterstock.com]
