Marmot named Dawn wins inaugural Fat Marmot Week contest, helping fund decades-long research project
A six-year-old yellow-bellied marmot weighing 6kg won a public voting competition designed to raise money for a Colorado-based wildlife study facing federal funding cuts.
What happened
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory launched Fat Marmot Week 2026, an inaugural public voting competition featuring eight yellow-bellied marmots competing during late August as they fattened up for winter hibernation. A marmot named Dawn won both the mass-gain and popular-vote categories, weighing approximately 6kg (13.2lb)—among the heaviest individuals the research team has ever measured. The competition drew over 23,000 votes between August 24 and 29. The contest was inspired by Alaska's established Fat Bear Week and designed to support a marmot research project that began in 1962 and is now struggling amid federal science funding cuts.
Context
The competition supports a long-running ecological study facing financial pressure. The researchers behind the project recently generated international attention by launching an OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms to raise funds, which—combined with the Fat Marmot Week competition, outside donations, and a marmot-themed cryptocurrency—has brought in more than $100,000. The timing of the competition aligns with the marmots' biological cycle: yellow-bellied marmots roughly double their body weight during summer months before entering five-month hibernations, during which they can lose up to half their stored fat. Adequate fat reserves are essential for survival; marmots that fail to store sufficient weight or whose burrows are insufficiently insulated may not survive until spring. Organizers have announced plans to hold Fat Marmot Week again in 2027.