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In a rapidly changing world, RMBL sustains our quality of life by accelerating discoveries about the ecosystems that replenish the world’s air, water, and food supplies.

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Family Fest 2026. Photo by Andrew Kunze/Recipe for Adventure
A tour in Gothic. Photo by Andrew Kunze/Recipe for Adventure

Fat Marmot Week 2026

BREAKING NEWS: DAWN CROWNED CHUNKY CHAMPION OF FAT MARMOT WEEK

Dawn, Grand Champion of Fat Marmot Week 2026. Photo by Eric Phillips

On Aug. 29-30, Dawn swept both the weight-gain and popular-vote categories of the inaugural Fat Marmot Week. Everyone, please give it up for our Chunky Champion! Thank you to all who participated — more than 23,000 votes were cast during the weeklong competition. If your favorite didn’t win this year, don’t fret — you’ll have a chance to root for your favorite again during Fat Marmot Week 2027!

Read the press release

About Fat Marmot Week
Every summer, yellow-bellied marmots bulk up to survive months of hibernation. Fat Marmot Week is an opportunity to celebrate their remarkable seasonal transformation. Hosted by the RMBL Marmot Project — one of the world’s longest-running studies of individually marked wild mammals — Fat Marmot Week combines real science with a little friendly competition.

Your gift enables RMBL to provide access to the critical infrastructure, resources, and long-term datasets that make our science, education, and community programs possible. Each year, scientists from around the world rely on RMBL’s support to conduct their research on marmot populations, pollinators, the impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems, and more. Your gift will go directly to advancing long-term research.