Endangered Marmots Have Litter Of Five

Wed., June 28, 2000

From Staff

Five Vancouver Island marmots, regarded as the most endangered species in Canada with only 23 believed to be left in the wild, have been born this spring in two litters at the zoo in Calgary, Alberta.

The marmots were born several weeks ago in boxes similar to the rodents’ underground burrows, but Calgary Zoo staffers learned the exact number only recently, spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder said Monday.

“It was just a matter of seeing when they’d stick their noses out,” ExtonParder said.

Last summer, two of the four adult marmots at the Calgary Zoo escaped. They were recaptured weeks later, both unharmed. An investigation showed they had gotten out by undoing the nuts and bolts that hold their cages together.

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