Endangered Vancouver Island Marmot Foundation

Comments 3 by Rebecca Bollwitt

My only up close and personal experience with a Vancouver Island marmot is toying with a stuffed plush MukMuk at the Olympic store. The endangered species, which is a recently upgraded Olympic mascot for 2010, is now facing another challenge; the Vancouver Island Marmot Foundation‘s funding has been cut by the BC government.


Photo credit: gfroese9 on Flickr

According to the Globe and Mail, “Viki Jackson, executive director of the Nanaimo-based Marmot Recovery Foundation, said last week that her organization is battling a $133,000 shortfall after a Ministry of Environment decision to chop its annual funding from the 2009-10 budget.”

mukmukslippersThe Foundation operates a Marmot Recovery Centre, manages the captive breeding program, assists the wild population and conducts research. The marmot, known as the “most endangered species in Canada” is down to a population of 200, which is up from 30 just a few years ago.

Without sufficient funding, the Foundation would be left high and dry by next year, right when we are welcoming the world and showcasing the species-inspired MukMuk.

You can educate yourself by reading up on the Foundation or by checking out this post by Vancouver Island blogger (and my good friend) Keira-Anne, which is a part of her Island Profile series.

You can also donate to the Foundation online, purchase a plush toy or sign up for the Adopt-a-Marmot program.

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3 Comments  —  Comments Are Closed

  1. klparrotMonday, August 24th, 2009 — 4:06pm PDT

    It would be nice if VANOC would donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of Mukmuk merch to the Foundation. I wonder if they could be persuaded.

  2. file recoveryMonday, August 31st, 2009 — 8:22pm PDT

    It’s sad to hear that the species of marmot is endangered.

  3. Monica (aka monnibo)Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 — 3:11pm PST

    We used to raise money at school to Adopt-A-Marmot. It is a great program!

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