Endangered Vancouver Island marmot numbers get a boost

Wildlife researchers are optimistic for the future of the critically endangered Vancouver Island marmot species, after they counted a record 86 wild-born pups this summer.

The Vancouver Island marmot, which is endemic to its namesake, is one of the country's most endangered species. The Marmot Recovery Foundation estimates there were fewer than 30 in the wild about 20 years ago.

Recently, however, their numbers have started to tick up, with nearly 60 pups born last year. Adam Taylor, the foundation's executive director, estimates there are now more than 300 wild Vancouver Island marmots.

And he attributed the rising pup population to favourable weather for breeding in the wild.

"We're pretty ecstatic to see this number of pups," he told CBC News. "They're just everywhere."

"We've got about 17 different colonies where marmots have produced pups this year," he said. "That's about half of our colonies."

Taylor said the boom in new pups came down to a mild winter followed by a wet summer, which seemed to be ideal for a growing number of breeding-age adult marmots.

The foundation, based in Nanaimo, about 110 kilometres north of Victoria on the island, has assisted in marmot population recovery efforts over the years. It releases marmots born at zoos into the wild, rescues those that are hurt and monitors their populations.

"We really have been working to rebuild the population, and that takes time for these marmots to go from being young, and released to the wild, to ... becoming reproductive-aged adults," he said.

"So we are seeing more reproductive-aged adults in our colonies, and obviously we need that in order to have pups in the first place."

The Vancouver Island marmot inhabits subalpine meadows, and is well known for its range of shrill calls to warn colonies of dangerous predators.

Climate change could factor into predation

Jamie Gorrell, a professor at Vancouver Island University, said the number of new pups is a sign that population recovery strategies are proving more successful.

"For the island, the marmot is truly unique. It's a species that's found nowhere else," he said. "It ... also helps serve a role to maintain that diversity that we need to have that functioning ecosystem."

Gorrell said Vancouver Island, being separated from the mainland, has a lower number of animal species — and the marmot is one of the few mountainous mammals that fill an "ecosystem niche" for the region.

While predators are cited as the primary cause of the Vancouver Island marmot's near-extinction, Taylor said climate change may also be a big factor.

He said the critters thrive in meadows with little vegetation — often due to heavy snow and avalanches scraping trees and vegetation off the surface. The lack of vegetation helps them spot predators, like cougars, and warn their colonies.

But as a warming climate means more precipitation is starting to fall as rain, instead of snow, the areas where the marmots used to thrive are seeing more trees, according to Taylor.

"Open space protects the marmot. Closed spaces, at least forested areas with really tall vegetation, protects the predators," he said.

WATCH | Endangered Vancouver Island marmot plays with camera: 

Watch this endangered marmot play with a wildlife camera

4 months ago

Duration 0:41

Vancouver Island marmots are among the country's most endangered species. Adam Taylor, executive director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation, and his team have been monitoring their numbers and caught this curious yearling on film in July.

The researcher also cautioned that, while the explosion of pups this summer is a good sign, the survival rates for them remain relatively low, at around 15 to 30 per cent.

The foundation said female breeding marmots give birth to around three or four pups every other year, with an average lifespan of around a decade. Taylor said he hopes that a large number of the new pups will be able to feed and hibernate in the upcoming winter.

"Just one big pulse of pups isn't going to fix the issues for this critically endangered species, you know?" he said. "We need this pattern to persist for years before the species will really be out of trouble."