Story perspectives

Fat Marmot Week Tournament Launches as Marmot Die-Off Peaks

8/25/2026

Summary

Rocky Lab Launches

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory launched the inaugural Fat Marmot Week tournament.
Voting opens Monday, Aug. 24, continues until Aug. 28, with the champion announced Aug. 29.
Researchers invite the public to vote online for the chunkiest of seven marmots.
Colorado’s record-low 2026 snowpack left marmots more vulnerable to predators and reduced wildflower food.
The Marmot Project, founded in 1962, is among the world’s longest-running individually marked wild-mammal studies.

Summary

Blumstein warns

Blumstein called the Marmot Project’s Fat Marmot Week publicity priceless.
Field teams swabbed a marmot’s cheek on Aug. 6 in Gothic to collect biological samples.
Scientists recorded the largest marmot die-off in project history after the 2025-26 winter’s shallow snowpack.
The team warns that without continued funding, six decades of individually marked marmot data could be lost.

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Rocky Lab Launches

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory launched the inaugural Fat Marmot Week tournament.
Voting opens Monday, Aug. 24, continues until Aug. 28, with the champion announced Aug. 29.
Researchers invite the public to vote online for the chunkiest of seven marmots.
Colorado’s record-low 2026 snowpack left marmots more vulnerable to predators and reduced wildflower food.
The Marmot Project, founded in 1962, is among the world’s longest-running individually marked wild-mammal studies.

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