Photos / Sounds

What

Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis)

Observer

smilodonichthys

Date

August 2022

Description

While descending a meadow/talus ridge we heard warning whistles that I recognized as being from marmots. We saw three individuals dashing to the cover of nearby large boulders. After staying quiet and sitting for a couple of minutes we saw them climb the boulders to look at us.

I managed to get these pictures and some decent quality video from a distance before quickly moving on so as not to overly bother them.

After reporting this observation to the Marmot Recovery Foundation it turns out that there are no post-decline records of marmots from this area. That would make this a newly documented population. It was mentioned that there is a possibility that one of the marmots is younger which could be evidence of successful reproduction.

Vancouver Island Marmot - Photo (c) John D Reynolds, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John D Reynolds
savitao's ID: Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis)
Added on May 10, 2023
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