A chubby yellow-bellied marmot with a fondness for rocks has been crowned the champion of Fat Marmot Week in Gothic, Colo.
During the inaugural event organized by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, the competition involved a popular vote and a weigh-in to determine the marmot that gained the most weight before hibernation season.
The victor, named Dawn, excelled in both aspects.
According to his online profile, Dawn is recognized for fathering multiple litters of marmot offspring and has a peculiar habit of licking salt and minerals off rocks. His weight nearly doubled from 2.5 to 5.9 kilograms (approximately 5.5 to 13 pounds) over the summer.
“He truly earned it,” stated Katie Adler, the organizer of Fat Marmot Week, in an interview with Nil Kӧksal from As It Happens. “He is a unique marmot who enjoys consuming rocks.”
However, as the reigning chonker champion, Dawn has also assumed the unofficial role of being an ambassador for the Marmot Project, a research initiative facing uncertainty due to significant science and education funding reductions in the U.S.
Threat to 60-Year Research Program
Inspired by Fat Bear Week conducted by Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, Fat Marmot Week celebrates Gothic’s population of hibernating yellow-bellied marmots.
These marmots, like bears, accumulate weight to survive the winter hibernation period.
“They need to gain significant weight to endure the winter without freezing,” explained Adler. “Consequently, they become quite large.”
Katie Adler, a graduate student at UCLA and organizer of Fat Marmot Week, posing with this year’s Fat Marmot Week winner. (Isabel Norman)
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