If you're like me, "stowaway groundhog" wasn't on your bingo card today. Nevertheless, here we are, with a custard shop in Pennsylvania reporting a runaway rodent residing in a stuffed animal arcade claw machine.

An intrepid varmint dubbed Colonel Custard — so named for the frozen custard shop and mini-golf outlet where he was discovered — was found stowed away with a passel of stuffed animals prizes in an arcade game two weeks ago. Players were maneuvering a mechanical claw to pluck toys from the glass game case when they suddenly realized a real live groundhog was blinking back at them.

The newly named colonel was found in Hollidaysburg, a good hour’s drive from Pennsylvania’s far more famous groundhog town, Punxsutawney, home to the weather-predicting groundhog Phil.

The marmot has, as the saying goes, gone viral: 

The groundhog has been named “Colonel Custard.” https://t.co/xFMQLnczFQ

— WPXI (@WPXI) August 13, 2024

Here's another look at it:

Meet Colonel Custard! A groundhog found stuck in a Hollidaysburg dessert shop's claw machine has turned into a viral sensation. https://t.co/tZ0d27z0VZ

— 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) August 12, 2024

What's interesting is where the stowaway member of the Sciuridae family (yes, marmots, like woodchucks, technically are big ground squirrels) was found, namely, inside a stuffed toy grappling hook game. Woodchucks are burrowing critters, and are also rather inquisitive. Colonel Custard would have had to have climbed into the game through the drop chute where the stuffed toys are dispensed, seeing it as some kind of burrow. Once inside, he apparently found extricating himself difficult. Fortunately, some thoughtful humans were able to help, as the AP story linked above explained:

It took a village to set the varmint free. Employees first called the claw machine owners, who were too skittish to take the colonel on. Next came the police, who called the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Game wardens opened up the claw machine and released the groundhog into a nearby field, Castle said.

“It’s a good story that ended well,” Castle said. “He got set free. No one got bit.” 

That's good news, anyway. As of this writing, Punxsutawney Phil has not returned a request for comment.

See Related: Happy Groundhog Day - May We All Enjoy an Early Spring! 

Infamous Bill de Blasio 'Groundhog Incident' Revisited As Former NYC Mayor Gets Well-Deserved Dunking

Growing up in rural Iowa, I had a lot of occasion to interact with woodchucks, with said interaction not being limited to hunting and eating them. They were a big part of my summer; the season on woodchucks opened in mid-June, and I spent a lot of time roaming field edges and rock outcrops looking for them. Woodchucks are good eating. They taste a lot like rabbit meat, but produce two to three times as much edible meat. They are also quick, canny, and have sharp senses. They presented a pretty good challenge for a 12-year-old with a .22 rifle, and I grew to have some respect for the critters, even though they had the bad habit of tunneling under the retaining wall my father had painstakingly built along the creek.

For now, Colonel Custard is safe, back in a friendly Pennsylvania pasture where hopefully there is plenty of clover and other forbs for him to eat. That's a happy ending for a Saturday morning, and we can all use a few more of those.

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