They don’t just grab a random wild groundhog each year; the “Groundhog Day” animals are almost always long‑term, captive groundhogs kept and handled by a specific local group or zoo.

Where Punxsutawney Phil comes from

  • Punxsutawney Phil is a single, live groundhog who lives full‑time in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
  • He’s cared for year‑round by a local ceremonial group called the “Inner Circle,” and he lives in a special burrow/display in town (Phil’s Burrow in Barclay Square).
  • Each February 2, they take that same animal up to Gobbler’s Knob for the ceremony; it’s not a different groundhog every year.

What about other Groundhog Day groundhogs?

  • Many towns have their own “weather‑predicting” groundhog, usually obtained from licensed wildlife rehabilitators, breeders, or zoos and then kept in captivity under care of local organizers or a zoo staff.
  • Some places that can’t or aren’t allowed to keep a live groundhog use a taxidermied one instead; for example, Quarryville, Pennsylvania’s Slumbering Groundhog Lodge uses a stuffed woodchuck for its ceremony.

Why you can’t just catch one

  • In many states, it’s illegal or tightly regulated to trap a wild groundhog and keep it as a pet or mascot because of wildlife and rabies laws.
  • That’s why towns either rely on existing permitted animals, partner with zoos, or, like some New Jersey towns, have had to stop or change their traditions when regulations tightened.

So, “where do they get the groundhog?”: from a permanent, human‑cared‑for animal kept by the town or a zoo, not from a fresh wild capture every year.