The Marmot Recovery Foundation on Vancouver Island is celebrating a milestone in its journey of bringing back critically endangered marmots to the area.
According to the Toronto Star, the foundation announced on social media that the marmot population on Vancouver Island has reached a new peak of 427.
The Vancouver Island marmot is one of the most endangered species in Canada, and the Marmot Recovery Foundation, founded in 1998, was established to save the species from extinction.
To do this, the foundation has participated in captive breeding programs, reintroduced marmots to their native habitats, and worked on habitat restoration.
The foundation didn't start releasing the species into the wild until 2003. At that time, only 22 wild marmots remained, and there were serious concerns that they could not be saved.
The first releases of marmots back into the wild didn't go so well, either. Out of the first four marmots the foundation released, three of them fell prey to cougars within a matter of weeks.
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Now, though, the number of wild marmots has risen from 22 in 2003 to 427 in 2025, spread out in 35 colonies on Vancouver Island.
The Marmot Recovery Foundation shared that the number of marmots has steadily increased, rising by 70 in 2024 and 40 in 2025. However, survival rates remain around 50%.
While robust captive breeding programs and excellent weather conditions have helped these creatures thrive in recent years, predators still abound, which can significantly reduce marmot populations.
Additionally, this species is having trouble getting pups to survive until the yearling stage, when they will be able to live in the wild on their own.
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$200 or more 💰 There's still plenty of good news, despite the struggles, though, as the foundation discovered a small population of marmots in the Mount Cain area, where it believed the species had already disappeared.
Per the Times Colonist, Adam Taylor, the executive director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation, explained, "There are a couple of colonies there that we really had not anticipated persisting on the landscape. It's really thrilling news for us."
However, Taylor cautioned that although Vancouver Island marmot populations reaching over 400 marks a significant milestone, this species still isn't at a point where it can sustain itself without continued conservation efforts.
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