Daily BrewRepopulation efforts paying off as marmots slowly returning to Vancouver Island meadows
Of all the endangered species most Canadians can list off the top of their head, it's doubtful these cute little critters would even graze the periphery.
But Vancouver Island's marmot population has been in crisis since the 1980s, when scientists first alerted the province to their declining numbers.
Island marmots can be distinguished from their mainland peers by patches of white fur on their nose, chin, forehead and chest (and according to one website, for their deep devotion to peanut butter.)
Clear-cutting, habitat loss, rising temperatures and a never-ending supply of predators transformed this particular rodent strain into what these scientists then declared to be "the most endangered mammal in Canada."
[ Related: 10 facts about Vancouver Island marmots ]
At their lowest, the National Post reports, only 30 pairs of marmot whiskers could be found foraging for greens along the island's sub-alpine meadows.
That warning bell set off a multimillion-dollar initiative to preserve the species.
Thus began the Marmot Recovery Foundation in 1998, its goal: to preserve and replenish the stocks.
With a mix of private funding, corporate sponsorship and tax dollars, organizers set up a $1.2-million facility on Vancouver's Mt. Washington ski hill and started breeding them in captivity to maintain a population safety net.
Dozens of those marmots have been sent out into the wild each year in the hopes they'll find a nice mate and fill their burrows with loads of pups.
In total, $12 million has gone toward drawing the marmot ranks out of the danger zone — no mean feat considering the furry critters can take up to four years to hit reproductive age.
And when you compare them to fellow rodents, like mice, for whom members of the opposite sex start to look rather appealing within weeks, this has played a significant role in delaying repopulation efforts.
The good news coming out of Vancouver Island this week is that after two decades of concerted effort, the white-striped marmots seem to be making a comeback.
As Island marmots begin to refill the ranks, however, the work, time — and money — required to get them there has generated some interesting questions.
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"People always ask, 'why are they so important?'" Don Doyle, a wildlife biologist with the Marmot Foundation, told the Post. "Well, they're a unique Canadian species, totally endemic to Vancouver Island, so I think it's pretty important for us to take a stab at recovering this species."
Considering the marmots have little impact on the local ecosystem, and there's no guarantee they'll survive changing environmental conditions over time, it boils down to social conscience — more specifically, the fact that British Columbians love their marmots.
And looking at the adorable creatures, it's easy to see why.
Which brings up another question. If the marmots were scaly, fanged, hideous predators, would we be putting in this much effort to preserve them?
