Groundhog Day A Go: Yellow River Game Ranch Animals Find New Home

Ike English is the director of Dauset Trails Nature Center in Butts County, which is about an hour south of Atlanta. He says the nature center took in Gen. Lee on Monday.

“He’s still in hibernation and fat and happy and sleeping right now,” English said.

Dauset Trails plans to continue the tradition of welcoming people for the Groundhog Day celebration, which is next month.

Most of the other exotic animals, and the other less-notable groundhog, have also been relocated to the preserve.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Lt. Wayne Hubbard, who is with DNR’s law enforcement division, said DNR still has to find homes for four black bears and two vultures.

Hubbard said the department is working to re-home the bears together to minimize stress.

“It’d be like if you had pets that had grown up together and you got rid of one or one passed away,” he said. “The other might react to that, not having that companion around.”

Hubbard said they’re trying to keep the vultures together, too.

Georgia facilities that could take the animals don’t have the space, so DNR officials are looking out of state.

But DNR is only handling the exotic animals. There’s no word on what’s happened to the farm animals. The owner of the game ranch, Codi Reeves, couldn’t be reached for comment.