Notes from the artist, Molly Schafer: The Vancouver Island Marmot is a ready muse, her coloring is in such aesthetic accord with her fragile habitat. I wanted to capture the lush colors of her coat and sub-alpine home. All that was missing was a pop of red, alluding to berries growing in the summer woods. I visited Vancouver Island last year and was amazed to see edible berries growing everywhere.
More about the The Marmot Recovery Foundation: The Marmot Recovery Foundation maintains a breeding program that currently boasts 179 marmots in captivity. The MRF plans to release these VIMs into former wild VIM habitats. Their goal is to restore and maintain a healthy population of 400-600 Vancouver Island marmots in the wild.
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More about the The Marmot Recovery Foundation: The Marmot Recovery Foundation maintains a breeding program that currently boasts 179 marmots in captivity. The MRF plans to release these VIMs into former wild VIM habitats. Their goal is to restore and maintain a healthy population of 400-600 Vancouver Island marmots in the wild.
CLICK HERE to add this print to your cart and pay online, or CLICK HERE to pay by check.
ABOUT THE VANCOUVER ISLAND MARMOT
Canada's most endangered animal, approximately 140 Vancouver Island Marmots remain in the wild. It may be hard to believe that a marmot could be critically endangered, since in some places in the US marmots are plentiful, even considered a nuisance. Sporting chocolate brown fur and fetching white patches the Vancouver Island Marmot stands out from it’s marmot relations. The VIM's skull structure, vocalizations, and behavior; ecological adaptations to its habitat and isolated lifestyle, also distinguish it from other marmots.
The first VIM ancestors likely arrived on Vancouver Island during a period of sea level decline by crossing exposed land bridges between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Whether the marmot’s journey to the island on now submerged land occurred during the Illinoian glacial period around 100.000 years ago or during the more recent Cordilleran glaciation 10,000 years ago is still debated. What is known is that isolation on Vancouver Island acted as a catalyst for this unique species to evolve.
VIMS live in the mountains, 3000+ feet high, in sub-alpine meadows. These meadows are scattered among large stretches of unsuitable habitat. The VIM requires a particular habitat to thrive - one that provides boulders and deep soil. Marmots use boulders to regulate their body temperatures. They can be seen sunning themselves on boulders, as well as cooling themselves in shadier spots. Additionally, boulders provide excellent look out posts from which VIMS can scan for nearby predators. When alarmed, marmots will give a shrill-sounding whistle to warn their colony of a potential threat.
The deep soil of these mountains is needed for digging burrows. Marmots are only active above ground for only a few hours in the early morning and late afternoon. While underground, VIMs relax in elaborate underground burrows which measure up to 13 feet long and 3 feet deep. The burrows contain multiple passageways and exits. VIMs collect dried moss and grasses to line the sleeping quarters of their burrows and make comfy beds.
These comfy beds are especially needed during the long, sub-alpine winter during which VIMS hibernate. Marmots plug up the entrances to their burrows with rocks and soil before they go into a hibernation that lasts for 6 months. Family groups hibernate together in a deep burrow known as the hibernaculum. During hibernation a marmot's heart will slow to 3-4 beats per minute. In contrast, an active marmot heart beat ranges from 110 to over 200 beats per minute.
On Southern Vancouver Island logging and road construction have altered the marmot's natural habitat. While logging does not destroy marmot habitat it can alter distribution patterns and population structures concentrating marmots in a smaller area and leaving them vulnerable to disease, predation, and weather, with limited food sources. One or a combination of these factors could easily wipe out their small population. Logging temporarily creates clear-cut areas where marmots can thrive. In fact half of the world's Vancouver Island Marmot population now lives in these clear cut areas. These habitats are temporary, however, as the forest will regenerate, making these areas inhabitable for marmots within 20 years. VIMs are only found in the mountains of Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia. Since the species have adapted to living only in this one area, habitat loss is a grave threat to their existence. Your purchase of this print will support The Marmot Recovery Foundation's habitat restoration efforts.
Canada's most endangered animal, approximately 140 Vancouver Island Marmots remain in the wild. It may be hard to believe that a marmot could be critically endangered, since in some places in the US marmots are plentiful, even considered a nuisance. Sporting chocolate brown fur and fetching white patches the Vancouver Island Marmot stands out from it’s marmot relations. The VIM's skull structure, vocalizations, and behavior; ecological adaptations to its habitat and isolated lifestyle, also distinguish it from other marmots.
The first VIM ancestors likely arrived on Vancouver Island during a period of sea level decline by crossing exposed land bridges between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Whether the marmot’s journey to the island on now submerged land occurred during the Illinoian glacial period around 100.000 years ago or during the more recent Cordilleran glaciation 10,000 years ago is still debated. What is known is that isolation on Vancouver Island acted as a catalyst for this unique species to evolve.
VIMS live in the mountains, 3000+ feet high, in sub-alpine meadows. These meadows are scattered among large stretches of unsuitable habitat. The VIM requires a particular habitat to thrive - one that provides boulders and deep soil. Marmots use boulders to regulate their body temperatures. They can be seen sunning themselves on boulders, as well as cooling themselves in shadier spots. Additionally, boulders provide excellent look out posts from which VIMS can scan for nearby predators. When alarmed, marmots will give a shrill-sounding whistle to warn their colony of a potential threat.
The deep soil of these mountains is needed for digging burrows. Marmots are only active above ground for only a few hours in the early morning and late afternoon. While underground, VIMs relax in elaborate underground burrows which measure up to 13 feet long and 3 feet deep. The burrows contain multiple passageways and exits. VIMs collect dried moss and grasses to line the sleeping quarters of their burrows and make comfy beds.
These comfy beds are especially needed during the long, sub-alpine winter during which VIMS hibernate. Marmots plug up the entrances to their burrows with rocks and soil before they go into a hibernation that lasts for 6 months. Family groups hibernate together in a deep burrow known as the hibernaculum. During hibernation a marmot's heart will slow to 3-4 beats per minute. In contrast, an active marmot heart beat ranges from 110 to over 200 beats per minute.
On Southern Vancouver Island logging and road construction have altered the marmot's natural habitat. While logging does not destroy marmot habitat it can alter distribution patterns and population structures concentrating marmots in a smaller area and leaving them vulnerable to disease, predation, and weather, with limited food sources. One or a combination of these factors could easily wipe out their small population. Logging temporarily creates clear-cut areas where marmots can thrive. In fact half of the world's Vancouver Island Marmot population now lives in these clear cut areas. These habitats are temporary, however, as the forest will regenerate, making these areas inhabitable for marmots within 20 years. VIMs are only found in the mountains of Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia. Since the species have adapted to living only in this one area, habitat loss is a grave threat to their existence. Your purchase of this print will support The Marmot Recovery Foundation's habitat restoration efforts.
