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Wildlife Featured in this article
- Vancouver Island marmot
Vancouver Island marmots on road to recovery
Canada’s rarest mammal is returning thanks to captive breeding and reintroduction
The program reintroducing Canada’s most endangered mammals is seeing continued momentum on the road to recovering Vancouver Island marmots. The nonprofit Marmot Recovery Foundation is in the midst of releasing more than four dozen animals on the island this month at 16 locations. Vancouver Island marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) are considered endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The foundation, along with Toronto and Calgary zoos, has been breeding the marmots in captivity before a soft release on their namesake island—the only place they are found. The organization has been seeing success for several years now—a great achievement since less than 30 marmots were estimated to live in the wild in 2004. Now more than 200 marmots are estimated to live in 20 colonies.
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Header Image: A captive breeding program has released dozens of marmots around Vancouver Island in recent years. Credit: Alina Fisher
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