At least Mayor de Blasio can’t be blamed for this groundhog’s tragic demise.
Known to fans as Staten Island Chuck, the Staten Island Zoo’s 6-year-old female groundhog named Charlotte has died — but it was from kidney disease.
“Charlotte came to Staten Island Zoo as a baby, and was a star for many years at the annual Groundhog Day event,” the zoo posted Friday night on Facebook. “She was a very friendly groundhog, and enjoyed interacting with her keepers, particularly sitting on the keeper’s lap to gobble up some yummy peanuts or yam.”
A different female woodchuck named Charlotte died a few days after de Blasio dropped her during the 2014 Groundhog Day ceremony at the zoo, while the winter-weather prognosticator was playing Chuck in the annual festivities. She perished from internal injuries.
The zoo covered up the death for months until an expose by The Post.