Vancouver Island marmots predict a longer winter

Two captive Vancouver Island marmots predict 6 to 12 more weeks of winter.

According to the Marmot Recovery Foundation, Chopper and Marlu growled this morning when they were woken up from their hibernation – enough of an indicator that it will be a longer winter.

If you're wondering where Van Isle Violet is today, the Marmot Recovery Foundation says she's missing in action and they had to bug two of the organization's captive marmots instead.

"Maybe she didn't want to wake up this year because of the pandemic," laughs Adam Taylor, executive director at the Marmot Recovery Foundation.

"Violet is a wild living marmot, she was much more photogenic in her younger years but she has become shy in her adult years," he says.

Chopper (six-year-old male) and Marlu (four-year-old female) are a romantic couple and in hibernation together. The Marmot Recovery Foundation hopes they will produce pups at some point.

The duo growled when awoken this morning, which just as much of an indication of a longer winter as getting scared by their shadows.

With the added gloom of the pandemic this year, Castanet hit the streets to ask: Similar to the 1990's movie 'Groundhog Day,' do you feel like you're reliving the same day over and over again?

Taylor points out that no marmots were harmed in the Groundhog Day predictions. The Marmot Recovery Foundation wakes its captive marmots at times throughout hibernation to perform health checks on them. Marmots hibernate from late October to May/April.

According to Chopper and Marlu's physicals today, Taylor says they are healthy.

As for Violet – The Marmot Recovery Foundation will continue to check for her because she is a prime breeding age female and they hope she will produce pups. The organization hopes to raise the Vancouver Island marmot population as they are one of the most endangered mammals on the planet. Taylor says there are only about 200 in the wild.

In other words, Violet might be on EI, but she's not off the hook for her duty as British Columbia's groundhog and they hope to get a prediction from her in 2022.

Maybe she just needed a break from the world this year – can you blame her?

Watch the video below to see Chopper and Marlu's prediction this morning.