Vancouver Island Marmots By Bellla Smith Computers 8 December 2010

Table of Contents What is a Vancouver Island Marmot? Appearance History Habitat Diet and predators Family and Behaviour Why are there so few of them? Mukmuk Collage Bibliography

What is a Vancouver Island Marmot? Species of marmot Vancouver Island, British Columbia Very endangered Less than 100 in wild Bred in captivity for species to increase One of five rarest animals worldwide

Appearance Size of large domestic cat Chocolate brown with paler muzzle Often white hairs on forehead, chin and undersides Males larger than females Average weight 3.5 kg (8 lb.). Newborns dark coat Don't molt yearly

History Discovered 1911 by scientists Species evolved from hoary marmots Sea levels fell; pathway to island Marmots crossed over Glaciers melted, sea levels rose, isolating island 10 000-12 000 years ago began evolution Adapted to habitat

Habitat Vancouver Island Alpine and subalpine meadows Need large boulders for look-out rocks Burrows At least 1000 metres

Diet and Predators Herbivores Eat many plants - Herbs, forbs - Alpine flowers Predators include: - Cougars, wolves - Golden Eagles

Family and Behavior Small colonies, under five adults Hibernate six months Sit/lie on boulders, logs, and stumps Little time spent feeding Come out early morning/ late afternoon Bound like squirrels, good climbers Whistle/trill to communicate

Why Are They So Endangered? Causes of endangerment - Humans - Weather - Predators - Disease - Localized habitat

Mukmuk Mascot for 2010 Olympic Winter Games Chinook word “muckamuk” means eat Qualities of real Vancouver Island marmot Made into - Stuffed animals, shirts, bags, blankets, slippers - Posters, Olympic books - Pins

Collage

Bibliography http://www.blindloop.com/index.php/2010/02/top-5-most-rare-animals-in-the-world/ http://www.junglewalk.com/popup.asp?type=a&AnimalAudioID=7469 http://www.marmots.org/ http://www.animalinfo.org/species/rodent/marmvanc.htm http://nature.ca/notebooks/english/vanmarm.htm http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/marmot.pdf http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/profile_mm.php