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UCLA marmot research fundraising

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2026-08-22 04:21 UTC → 2026-08-24 20:23 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In August 2026, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, in collaboration with UCLA ecologists, launched “Fat Marmot Week.” This bracket-style competition, scheduled from August 24 to August 29, allows the public to vote on which of eight yellow-bellied marmots accumulates the most fat before hibernation. The initiative aims to raise awareness and funding for long-term research, particularly as researchers noted that insufficient snow cover last winter caused approximately two-thirds of one marmot population to die during hibernation. The event highlights the biological necessity for these animals to gain significant weight during summer to survive hibernation. As true hibernators, marmots spend roughly half the year in a deep slumber where body temperatures drop to match their underground burrows. To prepare, they consume double their body weight during the summer, eventually losing between 30 and 50 percent of that mass while hibernating. To combat dwindling federal science grants, the research team, including UCLA professor Daniel Blumstein and graduate students Emily Renkey and Katie Adler, also established an OnlyFans profile named “OnlyMarms.” The account features non-adult videos of marmot social interactions and burrow activities to solicit subscriptions and tips. ~~The idea was inspired by Blumstein observing how individuals use the platform for support.~~ While the profile initially generated roughly $650 in its first month, subsequent reports indicate it has raised several thousand dollars, including $5,000 in subscriptions and contributions from meme-coin campaigns. These funds are directed toward laboratory supplies to sustain the decades-long study of the species, which researchers describe as “flexibly social” ~~animals that can live in colonies or alone.~~ animals. Recent developments show the project has secured over 85,000 euros to sustain the study, which has been collecting data since 1962. This financial stability was bolstered by the creation of a dedicated cryptocurrency, $OnlyMarms. These funds are expected to maintain the research for at least another year as scientists analyze the eleventh generation of marmots to understand species responses to global warming.

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