Vancouver Island Marmot

About the Vancouver Island Marmot

The Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) is a species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. M. vancouverensis lives above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation in meadows that face south to west, and habitat scarceness is believed to be the primary reason for its rarity.

Marmot surveys have been conducted on Vancouver Island since 1979. Beginning in the 1980s, this species experienced an 80–90% decline in population, such that by 2006 only 32 adults remained in the wild. Since that time, the population has begun to increase as a result of an ongoing program to restore wild populations of this unique Canadian species. As of the fall of 2021, there were just over 250 wild marmots living in 25 colonies distributed between two metapopulations, and one isolated colony at Steamboat Mountain.

M. vancouverensis is typical of marmots in phenotype. It can however be distinguished from other marmots by its chocolate brown fur and contrasting white patches. The only species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, it apparently evolved rapidly since the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet some 10,000 years ago. It is distinct from... Wikipedia →