when did punxsutawney phil die

Punxsutawney Phil has not died; the groundhog currently appearing each year under that name is alive and was presented again on Groundhog Day 2026.

So why is there confusion?

People online sometimes joke or tell local stories about a “Punxsutawney Phil” dying in the past (for example, rumors of a 1990s Phil dying from toxic paint, or other mishaps), but these are unverified anecdotes and often tongue‑in‑cheek. The official lore says there is only one Phil , kept alive by a “magic elixir of life,” and when one real groundhog dies, a replacement quietly takes on the same ceremonial name.

In other words, “Punxsutawney Phil” is a continuous character and tradition, not a single, traceable individual animal with a published death date.

Latest status and “death rumors”

• The official Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and recent news coverage still describe Phil as the living, active groundhog used for the 2025 and 2026 Groundhog Day ceremonies.

• When you see headlines or posts like “Punxsutawney Phil is dead,” they’re usually:
  • Confusing him with another local groundhog (for example, Milltown Mel in New Jersey, who did die before Groundhog Day 2022).

* Playing on the joke that Phil must have been replaced many times over the decades.

So if your question is “when did Punxsutawney Phil die?” the accurate update is: there is no official record that the current ceremonial Punxsutawney Phil has died, and he is still being used for Groundhog Day predictions as of February 2026.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.