Today, we released two marmots to the colony at Mount Washington. Ernest and Ezekiel were born at the Toronto Zoo, and today got their first taste of the wild.
They only have one year at Mount Washington however. Next year, we will move them to a more remote colony in Strathcona Park, where they will carry on the re-establishment of marmots in their historic range. ... See MoreSee Less
Last year, we asked you for additional support so that we could start breeding marmots again at the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Marmot Recovery Centre. Thanks to everyone’s gifts, we made the decision re-open breeding at the Facility in the fall.
Today, we have wonderful news – the first pups born at the Centre! Sally and Pepsi are proud parents of 3 healthy and active pups. Vancouver Island marmots are slow breeders, and this is a full year ahead of when we expected to see our first pups. It is a wonderful surprise!
These pups will be released to the wild next year. They, and the future pups born at the Centre, will help us speed up the recovery the marmots’ wild population tremendously.
We owe a huge thank you to our donors and partners who have made this moment possible. We can’t thank you enough.
This is one of the pups peeking out from the rock structures in their outdoor pen. ... See MoreSee Less
Right now, staff at the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Marmot Recovery Centre, the Toronto Zoo, and Calgary Zoo are listening for the sounds of pups. The pups stay in the burrow for a month or more, so right now listening is the only way for us to know who may have babies. We’re confident we’ve heard at a few pup noises, but only time will tell how many. In the wild, we won’t know anything until July, when the pups finally starting exploring the world outside their burrow. Until then, here’s some footage from last year to remind you what we’re waiting to see! ... See MoreSee Less
