Groundhog spotted hiding among claw machine prizes in Pennsylvania
A groundhog was spotted inside a claw machine, nestled between plushie stuffed animals, at a mini golf course in Pennsylvania. After it was removed safely, it inspired a naming contest.
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This is way cuter than a stuffed bear.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission was called out to a mini-golf course in Blair County to help score a prize from the claw machine no amount of tickets could cash in: a live groundhog.
Employees at the Meadows Family Fun Center’s mini-golf course in Holidaysburg called wildlife officials when they spotted the then-unnamed critter stuck inside the machine last week.
“A wave of stuffed animals [moved] as the groundhog scurried around underneath, then it popped its head out to assess the situation,” the game commission said in a Facebook post that has been shared more than 700 times.
Mini-golf course employees contacted the vending machine company to unlock the machine. From there, state Game Warden Salvadore Zaffuto safely captured and released the groundhog unharmed.
And while Meadows Family Fun Center employees said in a public post that the groundhog hasn’t returned, they were inspired to name the little guy.
On Friday, the center announced it would host a naming contest on social media, with a winner earning $25 at Meadows Original Frozen Custard. The custard shop even acquired a plushie groundhog in honor of the break-in.
So what’s the groundhog’s moniker?
The custard shop announced Monday that he’d be known as Colonel Custard.