First ever Fat Marmot Week to kick off in effort to raise money for research

Researchers hope contest – similar to Fat Bear Week – starting Monday will be latest wildlife watching craze Monday sees the start of what researchers hope will be the latest wildlife watching craze – Fat Marmot Week. Last winter was tough for marmots living high in the Colorado mountains, where researchers say two-thirds of one population died while hibernating because of insufficient snow cover. Those that survived are doing well, fattening up in time not just for fall and hibernation season but the very first Fat Marmot Week. Just like Fat Bear Week , an online contest to vote for Alaskan brown bears plumped up for winter, Fat Marmot Week – beginning Monday – is mostly just for fun. But it also has a serious side, aimed at raising money for scientists to continue long-running research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, into the rodents, despite federal funding cuts.

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