02 February 2023
Story: Florida Keys “Groundhog” Conch Sees its Shadow
Locator Super: Marathon, Florida Keys
Video: Video to match this story to be uploaded to FTP sites beginning by 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2. Footage also is available on the Florida Keys News Bureau's FTP server or via Google Link here
B-roll of “groundhog conch” coming out of its shell and other scenes. SOTs with Ben Daughtry, president of Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters
TRT: 02:05
Filename:  KeysGroundhogConch.mp4
Video Source: Florida Keys News Bureau
 
EDITOR’S NOTE: Conch is pronounced “KONK.”

MARATHON, FLORIDA KEYS -- A conch living underwater in the Florida Keys confirmed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil's prediction Tuesday of six more weeks of winter weather. 
 
The "mollusk meteorologist" emerged from its shell Tuesday morning at Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters and saw its shadow, just as Phill did earlier in the day according to Ben Daughtry, Aquarium Encounters' President. 
 
?“Our mollusk meteorologist concurred with Punxsutawney Phil and saw its shadow and is predicting six more weeks of winter in the north, because it’s beautiful here in the Florida Keys,” Daughtry said.
 
?The conch resides in a "touch tank" at Aquarium Encounters in Marathon, located midway between Key Largo and Key West
 
The folklore surrounding Punxsutawney Phil means that when he sees his shadow, another six weeks of winter weather is on tap for the U.S. ?

Of course, in the subtropical Florida Keys, “winter” temperatures average 77 degrees Fahrenheit during day and 67 degrees Fahrenheit at night, according to Chip Kasper, the lead forecaster at the Florida Keys National Weather Service office in Key West.
 
Among guests for the event were members of the Marathon City Council, who wore traditional “Groundhog Day” top hats but short-sleeved shirts during the ceremony.

“The conch is really one of the most iconic animals in the Florida Keys,” said Daughtry. “If you’re born in the Florida Keys, you’re considered a conch.”

The Keys island chain is also known as the Conch Republic.
 

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FTP Information*
Host: ftp://216.194.165.19/ 
UserID: floridakeys@news.fla-keys.com
Password: islands
Folder: News Video
Filename: KeysGroundhogConch.mp4
*Access and download files from the FTP site using dedicated software such as Fetch.
 
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