Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation marks 20-year milestone

On the 20th anniversary of the first release of marmots into the wild, the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation released four more of the large ground squirrels into the wilds of Mount Washington, west of Comox.

The one-year-old marmots were bred in captivity as part of the efforts to bring the endangered species back from near-extinction.

“This is what it’s all about today,” said Matt Leroy with the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. "Today, to see the marmots released out here, poking their noses out of their nest box and, I think, looking ahead of the future.”

In 2003, there were only 22 of the critters left in the wild. Today, there are more than 200 in colonies near Nanaimo Lakes and in Strathcona Provincial Park, and 50 more will be released over the course of the summer.

“This is one of the most endangered mammal species on the planet,” said Adam Taylor, executive director of the foundation. “But it has come incredible distance from where we began.”

Four volunteers carried the marmots to their new home on the mountainside Wednesday, and say the experience was memorable.

“Everybody is pretty quiet when we do the release, but it was almost like four little celebrities show up,” said Colin Koszman with Mosaic Forest Management, which is a supporter of the marmot foundation.

Captive-breeding programs at zoos in Calgary and Toronto, as well as a facility on Mount Washington, have been key to giving the mammals a second chance.

Only one in five of the marmots released this year are expected to survive to adulthood, so the foundation says there is more work to be done so that the colonies on Vancouver Island can be sustainable without the use of captive breeding.