The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) Marmot Project will host its first-ever Fat Marmot Week Aug. 24-29, inviting the public to celebrate one of the Rocky Mountains' most charismatic residents while learning the science behind its annual weight gain.
Established in 1962 at RMBL's campus outside Crested Butte, Colorado, the RMBL Marmot Project is one of the world's longest-running studies of individually marked wild mammals. Decades of research have helped scientists better understand yellow-bellied marmots' behavior, social relationships, and survival in alpine ecosystems.
Fat Marmot Week is a lighthearted, tournament-style event that highlights the remarkable transformation yellow-bellied marmots undergo each summer as they feed almost constantly on grasses and wildflowers, roughly doubling their body weight in preparation for about five months of hibernation.
"It’s fun to root for the chunkiest marmot, but behind the fun and games is a deathly serious competition against nature to pile on fat to survive the long, cold winter. And these days, with less predictable weather and wild fluctuations in snowfall, survival is not guaranteed. Importantly, marmots give us a window on the health of high-alpine ecosystems,” says Dan Blumstein, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA and co-director (with University of Ottawa professor Julien Martin) of the RMBL Marmot Project.
The public can meet this year's contestants beginning July 27. Voting opens Aug. 24 at sites.google.com/view/fatmarmotweek, where participants can vote for the marmot they think best exemplifies healthy hibernation preparation. Final-round voting takes place Aug. 28, and the chunky champion will be crowned Aug. 29, 2026.
Learn more about the RMBL Marmot Project here. Follow @rocky_mountain_bio_lab and @rmblmarmotproject on Instagram for updates..
Founded in 1928, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) is an independent nonprofit field station located at 9,500 feet above sea level in Gothic, Colorado. RMBL maintains one of the world's most extensive collections of long-term ecological data and supports more than 190 professional scientists and 60 graduate students each year while engaging more than 750 K-12 students and 40 undergraduates through its educational programs. Learn more about RMBL at rmbl.org.
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