The first Vancouver Island marmot of 2024 is Onslo! Well, probably, Onslo’s an older marmot, and his transmitter battery failed ages ago, but this is his favorite rock, and it sure looks like him.
Just after spotting Onslo, our first scouting trek of the season spotted an untagged yearling, likely Onslo’s pup from last year, and another untagged adult, likely Onlso’s mystery mate! The team also detected Gracelyn and Chloro awake in the same meadow!
These marmots were spotted April 23, which is a little earlier than normal. In a typical snow year, we would not be able to access this site until mid-May. Hopefully enough snow sticks around to keep the vegetation watered though the summer.
Photo by Shayn McAskin