reiko masuda @1990_11_07 - Twitter Profile

Federal funding reductions forced scientists to turn to OnlyFans and feature marmots in order to rescue a research project that has run for 64 years. Since 1962, investigators have tracked yellow-bellied marmots in the vicinity of Gothic, Colorado. The long-term effort has observed successive generations, enabling detailed examination of individual temperaments, social bonds, breeding patterns, longevity, and reactions to shifting climate conditions. The continuation of the work is now at risk because of reductions in government support. Investigators must obtain over $200,000 to cover three years of activity and ensure that field operations can proceed next summer. One of their more unconventional measures was the creation of OnlyMarms, a free OnlyFans page that posts wholesome clips of marmots feeding, burrowing, interacting, and leaving their dens. Visitors may contribute tips that help finance the science. The page itself produced several thousand dollars in contributions. A separate online backer later launched an $OnlyMarms digital currency and directed transaction fees to the project, reportedly yielding about $100,000. In addition, the group is introducing the inaugural Fat Marmot Week beginning August 24. Inspired by Alaska’s Fat Bear Week, the digital contest invites the public to select the most impressively plump marmot as the animals fatten up ahead of winter dormancy. Before entering hibernation, marmots can increase their body mass twofold, reaching approximately 13 pounds (6 kilograms). In the depths of their long underground sleep , body temperature may drop to roughly 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius), and breathing can slow to a single breath every one or two minutes. The competition comes after an especially severe winter for the study population. Counts exceeded 160 individuals prior to hibernation yet fell to only about 60 when the new active season began. Researchers attribute the losses to insufficient snow cover, which deprived the burrows of their customary insulating layer and left the sleeping animals vulnerable to lethal cold. Snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin this year reached its lowest recorded level, and the scientists note that anthropogenic climate change substantially raised the probability of such a snow drought.