Earth Pig Forecasts Weather at Audubon Zoo

The calendar may say it is called “ground hog” day, but at Audubon Zoo the official prognosticator is an “earth pig”.

That’s right, “Earth Pig” is another name for aardvark in some parts of the world, and lovely Leia the aardvark made this year’s weather predictions at Audubon Zoo.

Aardvarks are typically nocturnal, so popping out to determine the weather for the next six weeks isn’t common behavior for Leia. But she understood the assignment, spent some time carefully weighing the climatological options and Leia decided that the New Orleans area can expect an early spring this year! 

This is Leia’s first attempt at weather forecasting. She is eight years old, and when she is not giving her opinion on the weather, she is part of the zoo’s animal ambassador program.