Marmot Recovery Fdn

The Marmot Recovery Foundation is bringing Canada's most endangered mammal back from the brink of extinction. Donate today!

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

This young marmot is learning the hard way that regular blood donations are a requirement of living in the Island’s alpine! Whether they are protected by their fur, or they just tough it out, Vancouver Island marmots do not seem particularly bothered by the clouds of mosquitos.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

Reasons to stay in hibernation #3,491*: Mosquitos.

Photo by Jared Hobbs.

[Gramma Jackie 🐬 OrcaBC @OrcaBC_CA]

Looking for a special Christmas gift? 🎅🎄🎁❤️

Why not "Adopt a Marmot" or make a donation as a family or group! Kids will love getting involved. It can be fun & feels good🥰

PLEASE🙏 help save our endangered #VancouverIsland #Marmot

@MarmotRecovery

Please share. Thanks 🐻

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

Looking back at some of our favorite moments of 2025: Installing supplemental feeders is hard work, but watching the marmots with the biscuits – worth it.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

After all that, they have just 5 months - or less for females with pups - to put that weight back on for the next winter! It is not an easy cycle, but it an amazing one. Hibernation comes with challenges, but is an incredible adaption to life in the world’s harshest climates.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

A pile of Vancouver Island marmots during hibernation. One is looking up, and appears to be smiling, as though having a pleasant dream. This is deceiving. There is very little going on behind that pretty nose during hibernation.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

They will lose 30% or more of their body mass, and when they emerge from hibernation, emaciated and weak, they still cannot digest food. Their digestive system must be revigorated with stored energy, while tasty vegetation is meters away.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

Your support has made this remarkable recovery possible. Your gifts fund this work, and your donations have literally saved the Vancouver Island marmot from the brink of extinction. Together, we are saving a species. One animal at a time.
https://t.co/xUiBM1RB0j

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

Following the end of the field season, our small team has spent the past few weeks reviewing all the data we collected during this year, and I am thrilled to announce that the wild population of this critically endangered species reached a new high this year - 427 marmots!

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

While reaching over 400 wild Vancouver Island marmots is a milestone, there is still a long way to go before the species is safe. But we know now we can do it, and that the work we do, like conservation breeding and translocations, helps the wild marmot population grow.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

The trail camera footage is in, and we are close to finishing our counts for 2025. While we wait for the final population numbers for the critically endangered Vancouver Island marmot, please enjoy this highlight from the footage we reviewed.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

We aren’t doing this alone. Our work is possible because of people like you donate, and our partners, like @MountWashington, @mosaicforests, @WilderInstitute, and @TheTorontoZoo. Thank you for being a part of this remarkable success story.

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

This is one of the most endangered mammals in the world – there are fewer than 400 alive in the wild right now – so it is pretty special to watch this mom and her two pups emerge from their burrow. Kids will be kids, no matter how rare your species!

[Marmot Recovery Fdn @MarmotRecovery]

Our mission is to save the Vancouver Island marmot. Huge progress has been made in the past 20 years. The population has increased more than 10 fold, they have expanded from just 5 colonies to over 30. But there is much to be done before the species is secure.