Critically endangered Vancouver Island marmots released into the wild

Volunteers carried cages containing very rare furry creatures up Mount Washington on Monday as part of the mission to save Canada’s most endangered mammal.

Six Vancouver Island Marmots were released into the wild, the first of about 60 animals born in captivity that will join existing colonies this year.

Not long ago, the species was on the brink of extinction. The Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation began its effort to boost the population in 2003. That year, there were less than 30 marmots left in the wild.

Now, the foundation estimates there are about 300 currently waking up from hibernation. The 60 marmots soon to join them will give the population a pretty big boost—20 per cent.

“Still a critically endangered species but the recovery certainly seems to be going in the right direction right now,” said Adam Taylor, executive director of the foundation.

The Vancouver Island marmot is the only mammal species endemic to British Columbia, and one of only a handful of endemic mammals in Canada.

“If we don’t save the marmot nobody else is going to,” Taylor said. “It’s a special animal. This is our species. This is a uniquely Vancouver Island, uniquely British Columbia, uniquely Canadian animal.”

To release the marmots into the wild, they’re put in nest boxes containing familiar smells from captivity that are placed nearby an existing colony.

Marmots are released when they’re one to two years old because they’re more easily accepted into wild colonies when they’re young. The animals are also equipped with trackers so scientists can monitor their wellbeing.

Some marmots take awhile to emerge from their boxes, while others go out right away, field co-ordinator Kevin Gourlay said. Sometimes a particularly dominant marmot will go into another animal’s nest box and try and block the entry. “The marmots have a ton of personality,” he said.

“Mine was pretty loud,” marmot-releaser Rachel Shanner told CTV News. “His name was Lamar he was squeaking a lot and I could feel him moving around in the cage behind me.”

Taylor said it’s not uncommon to see a marmot that’s spent its whole life in captivity leave the nest box and begin eating natural vegetation within 30 minutes.

“It’s pretty incredible how fast the Vancouver Island marmots are able to adjust to life in the wild,” he said. “The fact that they’re able to make it is one of the things that has made this recovery possible.”

One of the main threats to the marmot population is predation, Gourlay explained, with eagles and wolves at different times being the main species that feed on the animals. Right now, cougars commonly prey on marmots.

Saving the species is not just about reversing biodiversity loss on Vancouver Island, Taylor said. “We really need to prove this is possible,” he explained. “Unfortunately there are a lot of species in Canada and around the world that are in real serious trouble… We need to blaze a path to show the kind of science that’s possible, the kind of recovery action that’s possible and to demonstrate that even our most endangered species can be successfully recovered.”