There are now more than 400 marmots on Vancouver Island, thanks to conservation efforts from the Marmot Recovery Foundation. (Marmot Recovery Foundation)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

more marmots

‘Really thrilled:’ Van Isle marmot population keeps rising

Dec 1, 2025 | 4:32 PM

NANAIMO — A local foundation trying to save a critically endangered species is celebrating another major milestone.

The Marmot Recovery Foundation (MRF) recently announced the Vancouver Island marmot population has reached a new high of 427, up from 382 recorded in the wild last year.

Adam Taylor, head of the Nanaimo-based MRF, said they were pleasantly surprised to see the increase after the population grew by 70 the year before.

“We had anticipated this would be a slower year, we actually thought that probably the population would decline just a touch, so we’re really, really thrilled to see the opposite, that in fact it was able to continue its growth, even if that growth was a little bit slower.”

He said the marmot population in the Nanaimo Lakes area grew a bit slower than anticipated, but any growth is movement in the right direction.

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Further north up the Island, Taylor said their population is booming in and around Swan Lake Provincial Park, an area where they feared the local marmot population had been wiped out.

“We did attempt a reintroduction there about ten years and thought it had failed, but in fact, there are still marmots there, and that was a huge surprise for us. That’s going to be a discussion we’ll have to have this winter about how we manage that population, but it’s a discussion we’re really excited to have.”

He said they have around 40 “release-candidate” marmots currently wintering at their Mt. Washington facility, planned to be released in the spring if they remain healthy.

“It’s been a group effort, and I’m just so grateful that we get to continue to work with this species, that it’s still here with us, and recognize that that wouldn’t be the case without the support of our donors and other groups we work with like the Toronto Zoo and the Calgary Zoo, Mosaic, Mt. Washington Alpine Resort. Just a huge thank you to all of them, as always.”

Founded in 1998 to stave off extinction of the Vancouver Island marmot population, a breeding, reintroduction and habitat restoration program has flourished since.

When the foundation first began releasing marmots to the wild in 2003, only 22 of the rodents were counted.

MRF said when they released the first four marmots into the wild 22 years ago, three of them were eaten by cougars within weeks. However, when seven marmots were released the following year, two of them became the first to breed in the wild and survive for more than a decade.

The group says that while reaching more than 400 Vancouver Island marmots is a milestone, there is still a long way to go for their recovery.

Ground-dwelling Vancouver Island marmot are considered one of Canada’s most endangered species.

A vast majority of the species are located in two broad areas: the Mount Washington/Strathcona Provincial Park areas, as well as between the Green Mountain/Nanaimo Lakes area spanning toward Mount Arrowsmith.

– with files from Jon De Roo, 97.3 FM The Eagle, and The Canadian Press.

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