Vancouver Island marmots released onto Mount Washington
The number of Vancouver Island marmots in the wild increased this week, with 10 of the critically endangered rodents released onto a Mount Washington ski run.
The Marmot Recovery Foundation, which breeds the animals in captivity in hopes of restoring the wild population, released six marmots on Tuesday and four more Wednesday morning.
"The idea right now is to get these marmots who have never been out in the wild before their first taste of life in the wild," said Adam Taylor, the foundation's executive director.
"Some of them will stay resident here and some of them will be trapped again next year and be moved to more remote locations in Strathcona Provincial Park."
In all, the foundation plans to release 25 of the captive-bred animals in 2022. Those plans have been made complicated by the colder-than-average spring, which has left snow on much of the terrain where the marmots typically live.
"There's some concern that this snow is burying the vegetation that these marmots that are emerging from hibernation," said Taylor. "That's what they rely on to eat."
The foundation has been supplementing the animals' food sources, and acknowledges that the marmots themselves have been a food source for hungry cougars.
"It's pretty deeply frustrating to be entirely honest," Taylor said. "Marmots are prey species. We know they're going to be eaten. We put a lot of sweat equity and heart equity into each one of these animals."
Vancouver Island University biology professor Jamie Gorrell has been studying the marmots with his team for the last few years. They've been working to compare the size of habitat required by wild-born marmots to that required by those bred in captivity.
He said the technique the team uses will likely be applicable to research on other species as well.
"We take a GPS location of where they are and then we combine GPS location data from the whole season to create an area map to see how much space the marmots use, or how much they move around over the season," Gorrell explained.
Initial results suggest that the marmots born in captivity require more space than those born in the wild.
"I guess it sort of implies that the marmots need time to get their bearings when they get put in a new location," Gorrell said. "They need to sort of survey the landscape to find out where they want to go."
With files from CTV News Vancouver Island's Gord Kurbis
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
NEW Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Defence attacks Stormy Daniels' credibility as she returns to the stand in Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor's salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was paid to keep quiet.
With contactless screening tech, this Toronto startup hopes to catch breast cancer early — and save lives
Amid evidence of rising breast cancer rates among young women in Canada, one Toronto startup is offering a contactless and radiation-free device that can help doctors identify suspicious changes in breast tissue. The company, Linda Lifetech, says this can lead to earlier detection of breast cancer.
Tornadoes tear through southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could wash over parts of the South early Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes and large hail killed at least three people in the region.