Vancouver Island marmot endangered species

June 1, 2004

Researchers are hoping the key to survival for the Vancouver Island marmot could be as simple as peeing in the bushes.

A fleet of creative ideas will be put into play this summer in the mountainous areas of Vancouver Island where Canada's most endangered mammals live. It's hoped the presence of human urine in the marmot's habitat, one of the proposed methods, will discourage predators such as wolves and cougars from stalking the dwindling species.

"We have no idea whether this will work, but we're basically trying to throw a battery of ideas at the problem in the hope we can cut down on the (risk of predators)," said Andrew Bryant, lead scientist with the Marmot Recovery Foundation.

"About the only thing we can do is try everything."

The number of researchers and observers in the marmot's habitat will be doubled this year, to about 16 this year, to shepherd the marmots and put the survival plan into place. The human scents they create (like urine and sweat) as they follow the house cat-sized animals in the wilderness could help keep predators at bay.

Other methods introduced include hanging clothing outside in scarecrow-like fashion, and erecting basic twine or wire fencing with flagging attached, which has been proven to act as a psychological barrier and deterrent to wolves in past experiments.

Bryant said the goal is to reduce the number of marmots eaten this summer, not stop it all together. If that is accomplished, he believes the wild marmot population will continue to grow stronger.

However, he admits it's almost impossible to evaluate how effective each method is overall because of the small population they're dealing with and the large set of variables the marmots encounter in the wild. It's tough to separate luck and circumstance from success and failure rates of the methods used.

All of the new experimental techniques will be non-lethal in the wake of the province's controversial decision to kill six golden eagles in the past. Bryant said that action may have been unnecessary given evidence the eagles are not a major predator of the marmots.

Bryant's team will also carry bearbangers with them, which are a cross between a flare and a firecracker, to scare off any eagles or other animals suspected of poaching around the marmot burrows. The bangers explode with a loud noise after travelling 40 metres.

Chris Genovali of the Raincoast Conservation Society believes these methods are a step in the right direction -- away from the culling of other species.

"Yes these methods are unproven, but lethal predator control is just as unproven," said Genovali.

"It's every bit as experimental and more dangerous than non-lethal methods," said Genovali

The new survival measures come after disastrous results last year when three of the four marmots released into the wild were eaten by cougars. The fourth was returned to captivity before it could suffer a similar fate. Only 15 Vancouver Island marmots are known to exist in the wild, around Mount Washington and the Nanaimo Lakes area. Each one has been fitted with radio-telemetry devices so its movements and survival can be tracked.

Unlike its brethren in the wild, the captive population has thrived in recent years. There are currently 78 marmots living in captivity at the Calgary and Toronto zoos, Mountain View Farm in Langley, and at Mount Washington.

There have already been eight litters of pups this year, which is a world record, and the possibility of more to come. This success means 10 to 15 two-year-old marmots could be released into the wild this summer.

"We're just trying to stack the odds in the marmot's favour," said Bryant about the challenge of helping the majority of this year's release survive.

Researchers are hoping to "baby-sit" the marmots with a variety of short-term solutions until a more natural population level of 400 to 600 is achieved. It is hoped that in 20 years, the clearcuts blamed for altering the marmot's habitat and drawing predators into the area will have developed into lush forests again. This may create a long-term solution of returning the environment and predatory practices to the way they were when marmots thrived.

Bryant says while it's possible to breed the desired number of marmots in captivity and release them then, this would cost the animal its "wild marmot culture." A number of the genetic survival traits fostered in the wild by the marmot would be altered, leaving the mammal biologically extinct if not physically extinct.

The foundation has an annual budget of $870,000, which includes money from government, public donations and timber companies.