With Bridgeton's coaties, we don't need Punxsutawney Phil

It's a long tradition in Bridgeton.

On an early February morning, furry friends bravely venture out of their shelters to prognosticate the remnants of winter.

Groundhogs?

Forget groundhogs. And Feb. 2. And Groundhog Day.

We're talking coatis (CO-ah-teez), those raccoon relations who are often misdubbed coatimundis.

Yes, tomorrow, for the 13th straight Feb. 1, it's Coati Day at the Cohanzick Zoo, where admission is always free.

These brownish creatures, including the zoo's white-nosed species, live in the wild from southern Texas and Arizona down through Central America, said animal curator Kelly Shaw.

So, one of these animals ...

No, there are "three young girls," she said.

So, these "girls" come out of the ground ...

"No, they come out of a building," she said, laughing heartily.

So, a guy in a top hat lifts ...

"No, it's not that formal," she said. "... It's not a lot of pomp and circumstance. ... We're not actually going to lift them up out of anything."

Instead, they're coaxed to leave their heated indoor quarters and explore their outside area, she said.

So, then they look for shadows ...

"Then we carefully watch their reactions," she said. If they chicken out and scurry inside, winter will supposedly be long and lousy. If they linger and pose for cameras, cue the daffodils.

So, if all three ...

Actually, last year there was a split decision, she said. Margarita, although a bit tentative, hung around a bit, but Carmella and Florienel quickly slinked inside. Thus by a 2-1 majority, extended rottenness was forecast, Shaw said.

So, in zoos all across America ...

"I think we're the only one," she said.

So, in short ... oh, forget it.

The zoo began this tradition because, well, why not?

"At the time, the zoo didn't have any groundhogs, so we used the next available creature," she said.

Besides, the zoo's Bengal tigers are kind of scary.

As the pioneering coatis passed on, the duties passed along to offspring, then last year to the house cat-sized females who joined the zoo in 2006.

The zoo's fourth coati, a larger male, doesn't get to play along because he's more likely to harass photographers.

(Media sometimes show up from as far away as ... Philadelphia. No Good Morning, America yet, she said.)

The male can be playful with the keeper he knows best, and the "girls" do seem to enjoy food-hiding games, but "they do have very sharp teeth, and ... we don't recommend them as pets, that's for sure," she said.

"Summertime is fun," she added. "They like whole watermelons, stuffed with bugs." Bugs like mealworms and crickets.

Which do they like more: the watermelon or the bugs?

"I think that they prefer the bugs," she said.

The low-key ceremonies start at 10 a.m. at the zoo, which is on Mayor Aitken Drive in Bridgeton Park, Bridgeton, Cumberland County, N.J. For more information, call 856-453-1658.

On the Web, go to http://www.co.cumberland.nj.us/tourism/cohanzick_zoo.