Captive breeding programs for the critically endangered Vancouver Island marmot have produced significant results this year, with 37 pups born at the Calgary and Toronto zoos and a recovery centre on Mount Washington.
Births in the wild colonies on Vancouver Island also look promising, said Adam Taylor, executive director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation.
Crews have started observing the animals on about 20 mountains in the Nanaimo Lakes, Strathcona Park and Mount Washington areas.
So far, pups have been spotted in five colonies, although researchers are waiting for more marmots to emerge from burrows and for access to the remote sites to improve.
The Island’s unique marmot species hit a low of fewer than 30 animals in 2003, but massive recovery efforts led by breeding programs and habitat protections have helped to rebuild populations.
Nearly 200 animals were observed last year, a promising upswing from the previous three years. In 2013, the population hit a high of 346, but weather and predators, among other factors, took a toll. In 2014, 266 animals were counted. Over the past three years, populations have been recovering, however.
There were 17 pups born in the Calgary Zoo this year, eight in Toronto and 12 in the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Recovery Centre.
It’s the highest captive-birth rate since the breeding programs started in 2005, Taylor said.
Taylor said marmots give birth in two- to three-year cycles, and a female usually has three to four pups. This year in Calgary, there were litters of five, six and seven.
Researchers have credited supplemental feeding for the increased productivity, saying increased nutrients improve a marmot’s overall health and the likelihood of surviving hibernation and conceiving pups.
The Marmot Recovery Foundation has been using extra feeding in the wild in certain colonies for several years, and it seems to be working, said Taylor, adding a formal study by the zoos is expected to provide more concrete evidence.
“We’d really like to see more pups [in the wild], but it is early,” he said. “It’s the way of the world where you have to just hold your breath and wait and hope.”
This year’s captive-born litters will be transported to Mount Washington and released next year.
Crews have been busy this spring and summer releasing marmots born last year. So far, six marmots have been released in the Nanaimo Lakes area and nine have found homes at Mount Washington. Attempts are being made to release three animals in Strathcona Provincial Park, but fog in the alpine has made helicopter flights difficult this week.
