General Beauregard Lee will need a new home for his Groundhog Day forecasts.
The rodent's longtime digs, the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, Georgia abruptly closed its gates this week without announcement or explanation.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which granted licenses to the ranch to house many of its wild animals, told 11Alive News that the ranch had notified state regulators on Wednesday of its plans to close immediately.
Yellow River Game Ranch
"The reason for their closing would be a question for them," said DNR spokesman Mark McKinnon. "We are not shutting them down - no reason to. Their inspections have been good. We will be working with them in the next few weeks on the disposition of the animals."
In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited concerns over the health of red foxes and a potential risk for contamination of bear feeding tubes.
"It's a good way to spend 50 years," Art Rilling said.
He said he started the ranch in 1962 - back when it was in Stone Mountain.
"When we first started, we just had a few farm animals," he said.
Most people came to know the ranch for the grand predictor of spring - the groundhog, General Beauregard Lee.
"We got the groundhog," Rilling said. "We were real proud of that."
Rillings stopped by the property Wednesday evening to see what was going on. He said that in 2013, he turned operations over to Cody Reeves who made the decision to close down.
"We didn't go into any detail," Rillings said. "He just told me that's what he was going to do."
But why?
"It's a number of things," Rillings said.
He said one of those concerns included animal rights activists.
"They certainly contributed," he said. "It's disappointing but it's kind of something you can't win."
11Alive spoke with several animal activist organizations who said they hope the animals end up in a sanctuary. Meanwhile, the DNR will be working with the ranch owner to find new homes for the animals.
Rillings said he didn't know where the animals would go but did say that if General Beauregard Lee needs a home, he can come live on his land and just be a groundhog.
