Canadian groundhog Fred la Marmotte found dead before planned prediction

Status of spring undetermined in northern Quebec after rodent prognosticator discovered dead in burrow during festivities

A Canadian woodchuck has cast a different type of shadow over Groundhog Day: just hours before he was due to predict spring's arrival, Fred la Marmotte was found dead.

The groundhog showed no vital signs" when the organizer of the annual 2 February tradition in Val-d'Espoir, Quebec, tried to wake him from hibernation, local media reported.