Metro

Zoo mulls Groundhog Day ban on mayors

Mayor de Blasio won’t be killing any more furry forecasters.

Staten Island Zoo officials — whom The Post exposed for covering up the death of a female groundhog posing as Chuck — want to stop letting butter-fingered politicians handle the critter during Groundhog Day festivities.

Charlotte the groundhog succumbed to her injuries after being dropped by Mayor Bill de Blasio in February. Staten Island Advance

“It’s being discussed whether we should do some process with the next Chuck on February 2, whether he should actually be physically transferred from one handler to another,” zoo spokesman Brian Morris said Thursday.

“Maybe he should just be displayed emerging or not emerging from his enclosure.”

Embarrassed zoo honchos were forced to rethink rules on Thursday when The Post revealed that the groundhog de Blasio fumbled on Feb. 2 died from internal injuries a week later.

Morris first tried pin the Groundhog Day debacle on then-newbie handler Kristin Campbell.

She “may not have been forceful enough” in placing the groundhog in de Blasio’s hands, preventing the mayor from getting a good grip, Morris told The Associated Press.

He later claimed to a pack of reporters that the zoo didn’t announce the death of Staten Island Chuck, who was actually a female stand-in named Charlotte, because there are too many animals to keep track of.

There are 1,500 animals here. We do not notify the public about every single death that comes up — we just don’t do it.

 - Brian Morris

“There are 1,500 animals here. We do not notify the public about every single death that comes up — we just don’t do it,” Morris said.

To add insult to injury, poor Charlotte wasn’t given a proper burial — and was simply “disposed of,” Morris said.

The zoo generally has four groundhogs on hand and is careful which one gets chosen to play the part of Chuck.

“It’s usually whichever groundhog is the least grouchy that day,” Morris told AP.

“[February] is a time of year when genetics tell them to be hibernating. They can be in a bad mood.”

Politicians and dignitaries who have attended the shadow-or-no-shadow party were furious over the zoo’s effort to hide the death.

“The true circumstances of the animal’s death should not have been withheld from the public,” said state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-SI).

Council Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio (R-SI) agreed with the zoo’s proposed policy change.

“The Groundhog Day ceremony at the Staten Island Zoo is an extremely popular national event, and the professionals there do a great job with an animal that — as we have all seen — can be very difficult to handle,” he said.

“But for that reason, I think the handling of the groundhog may be best left to professionals.”

Additional reporting by Tara Palmeri and Sophia Rosenbaum