Holtsville Hal, in need of a new home, will still make his Groundhog Day prediction

The Holtsville zoo is closed, but its best-known resident will still make his annual Groundhog Day forecast.

Holtsville Hal will step outside his den early Monday morning to search for his shadow, as he has for more than two decades, Brookhaven Town officials said this week. That's even though Hal's home — the zoo at the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve — closed to the public at the end of last month.

This year, like last year, when Brookhaven's Groundhog Day event was closed to the public, Hal will do his fearless forecasting online, said Kristen D'Andrea, spokesperson for the Brookhaven Highway Department, which runs the ecology site. She did not give a reason why the event is not open to the public.

Hal will announce his prediction around 7:25 a.m. Monday on the town website, brookhavenny.gov, and the Facebook page of Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro, D'Andrea said.

After a week of shoveling up to a foot of snow and enduring single-digit temperatures — and with another winter storm possibly on the way this weekend — Long Islanders are looking for any signs of relief.

But the Island's groundhogs don't always cooperate: Last year, Hal broke hearts by predicting six more weeks of winter. So did his Nassau County rival, Malverne Mel.

No one officially keeps score, but Mel's forecasts are correct more often than not, said Lori Ketcham, director of the STAR Foundation, the Middle Island wildlife rescue nonprofit that loans Mel to the village for its Groundhog Day festivities. 

Mel will be back to seek his shadow at 7 a.m. Monday near the gazebo at Chester A. Reese Veterans Memorial Park. The event is open to the public.

“Once in awhile, he’s right,” Ketcham said Wednesday in a phone interview. "I think he’s more than half-right."

Frigid temperatures are forecast for Monday — but that's OK with Mel, Ketcham said.

“Our animals are very healthy and have furry coats, so being outside is not an imposition,” she said. “This is more just an entertainment and [it's] educational about the animals and the coming of spring.”

In Holtsville, Hal is one of about 130 animals that remain at the zoo while town officials seek new homes for them. D'Andrea did not have an update on efforts to relocate them.

The zoo closed following allegations from whistleblowers, including former zoo workers, that animals at the facility had suffered from abuse and neglect. Brookhaven officials denied the allegations. The rest of the ecology site remains open.

Town officials said closing the zoo was a cost-saving measure that would cut the town budget by about $2 million annually.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.