“The Force Awakens”, but hopefully the Vancouver Island Marmots sleep through Christmas! Meet Luke & Leia, Han Solo (hopefully not “solo” for long – we need them Marmots breeding!), Jabba,& Yoda. These captive bred marmots are “A New Hope” for the species. At the Calgary Zoo, these Star Wars theme named pups will be part of the next generation of Vancouver Island Marmots released into the wild in 2016.
Through The Calgary Zoo’s Captive Breeding Program, along with a partner program at The Toronto Zoo, the Marmot Recovery Foundation has been able to release enough marmots to bring the wild population up from 30 marmots to 300. “The Return of the Marmots” is still ongoing, but already is an incredible story of successful conservation. You can read more about the Calgary Zoo’s Captive Breeding Program (and Star Wars!) here.
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Photo courtesy the Calgary Zoo.