A yellow-bellied marmot named Dawn has been crowned the winner of the first-ever Fat Marmot Week in Gothic, Colorado. Organized by Katie Adler, the event included a popular vote and a weigh-in to determine which marmot gained the most weight before hibernation.
Dawn, known for fathering multiple marmot litters and licking salt off rocks, nearly doubled his weight from 2.5 to 5.9 kilograms during the summer. As the champion, Dawn now serves as an ambassador for the Marmot Project, a research program facing funding challenges due to cuts in science funding.
The Marmot Project, established in 1962, is a long-term study of yellow-bellied marmots at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. With over 5,000 marmots studied across 12 generations, the project aims to understand how these animals adapt to environmental changes.
Facing financial uncertainties, the Marmot Project has initiated creative campaigns like OnlyMarms on OnlyFans to raise awareness and funding. While these efforts have generated over $120,000 in donations, the project strives for sustainable funding to secure its future research endeavors.
The Marmot Project has launched a petition urging Congress to restore research funding cuts and plans to organize another Fat Marmot Week in 2027. Adler hopes that such initiatives will foster public appreciation for marmots’ resilience and survival strategies in the face of challenging conditions.