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Leader of Fat Marmot Week Fights the Budget Cut Era: 'We're Going to Be Laughing Our Way Down as the Titanic Sinks'
Last winter was tough for marmots living high in the Colorado mountains, where researchers say two-thirds of one population died while hibernating because of insufficient snow cover.
TL;DR
- Fat Marmot Week is an online contest to raise funds for marmot research.
- Last winter, insufficient snow cover caused significant marmot deaths in Colorado.
- Marmots hibernate deeply, dropping body temperature significantly and breathing infrequently.
- Climate change is linked to reduced snowpack, impacting marmot hibernation and water resources downstream.
- The research project at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory has been running since 1962.
- Researchers are using unconventional methods like OnlyFans and cryptocurrency to raise funds.
- The team needs over $200,000 to fund research for the next three years.