WESTCOAST NEWS
Endangered marmots breeding in captivity
CONSERVATION I Recovery project thrives with 7 litters, biologist says

Louise Dickson
Victoria Times Colonist

May 21, 2005

VANCOUVER ISLAND I Vancouver Island marmots are breeding in captivity and having a wild time too.

Seven litters of the endangered rodent's pups are squeaking away in plywood nesting boxes in captive breeding facilities at Mount Washington, Mountain View Farm in Langley, the Calgary Zoo and the Toronto Zoo.

"It's looking like a very good year for the captive population," said conservation biologist Andrew Bryant, who advises the Marmot Recovery Foundation.

The scientist doesn't know yet how many pups have been born. Litters usually have three or four pups, but there can be as many as six. Bryant is hoping there will be at least two more litters in the coming weeks.

"I'm an optimist," he said. "We had five litters last year and two the year before. And I don't think we're done at seven. If we don't get 20 pups this year, I'm going to eat my shorts."

In the mid-1980s, there were about 300 marmots living in the alpine meadows of the Island. Their population plummeted when clearcut logging made them more vulnerable to predators. Hibernation was also more difficult in the clearcuts than in the meadows.

There are now 91 marmots in captivity and 32 animals in the wild, Bryant said. The foundation's goal is to have 400 to 600 animals living in the wild.

"We're slowly winning. This animal was on the verge of extinction in 1998. And we've had seven litters so far. It's a pretty exciting year."

Bryant is also tickled that Landalt, a captive-born male, flown by helicopter to the burrow of KC, a lone female, successfully mated and fathered four pups that were born last July.

"She was doomed to extinction when we stuffed him down the burrow. He didn't want to go, but we had four pups."

Landalt is the first Vancouver Island marmot born in captivity to breed in the wild. Last week, scientists confirmed that KC and some of her pups had survived the winter.

"That was huge news," crowed Bryant, adding he didn't know what has become of Landalt.

The scientist is also extremely pleased that an extinct marmot colony at Haley Lake ecological reserve is now inhabited by marmots.

Six marmots were released there last July. Three survived the winter. Last week, Bryant dropped his canteen as he watched the new inhabitants.

"They whistled. They behaved with their normal anti-predator sense," said Bryant. "It was awesome to see them behaving like marmots. They were foraging. Their body condition looked good."

Bryant predicts it will take 20 years for the marmot population to recover.

"There were a lot of people who didn't accept that marmots were endangered . . . there were people who criticized the captive breeding program. This is a pretty nice feeling," he said.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005