Shubenacadie Sam is about to get his wake-up call, about two weeks ahead of his end-of-winter forecast next month. Hopefully, he can’t reach the snooze button.

“Last year was huge for Sam. He had a capacity crowd outside his home at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park and the Sam-Cam was one of the most watched webcams in the world that week,” said Natural Resources Minister Zach Churchill.

“I have no doubt that Sam will be just as popular in 2014.”

While Feb. 2 is the official Groundhog Day, the Sam-Cam, an Internet-based camera, goes live at 10 a.m. today, Jan. 20.

Fans around the world can check in on Sam at http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/samcam and the best times are 8 and 11:45 a.m. and 4 p.m., when he is fed and interacts with park staff.

People can follow Sam on twitter @ShubenacadieSam, keep up-to-date with wildlife park activities at http://wildlifepark.gov.ns.ca and like the park on Facebook.

Groundhogs and little brown bats are the only two animals in Nova Scotia that truly hibernate. During the winter, Sam’s body temperature can drop to about 4C and his breathing becomes very shallow. They hibernate because there is not much, if any, green plant life around to eat.

Source: Release