Published September 5, 2026 06:01AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What\u2019s chubby, hairy, and likes to lick rocks?<\/p>\n
No\u2014it\u2019s not a typical Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker. I\u2019m of course referring to a marmot, the cute and cuddly high-alpine critter that\u2019s currently taking the internet by storm.<\/p>\n
Marmots are having a moment, and I couldn\u2019t be happier. If you\u2019re like me, then your social media algorithm this month has overflowed with\u00a0<\/em>adorable marmot content.<\/p>\n My personal marmot deep dive began in mid-August when an outdoor influencer named Jared Shult posted this video<\/a> of a particularly charismatic marmot at Mount Rainier National Park hugging his leg. Shult recorded himself petting and stroking the marmot, and was subsequently fined $230 for doing so. National Park Service\u00a0rules specifically prohibit visitors from touching wild animals\u2014even the cute ones. Oops!<\/p>\n Shult\u2019s video had auspicious timing, as it hit social media\u00a0just before Colorado\u2019s inaugural Fat Marmot Week<\/a>, a highly entertaining online contest operated by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory\u2019s (RMBL) Marmot Project. Much like Fat Bear Week, the RMBL, which studies marmots outside of Crested Butte, Colorado, asked fans to vote between eight yellow-bellied marmots who were trying to gain the most weight before winter.<\/p>\n The winner, a particularly chonky marmot named Dawn, gained 4.5 pounds (about half his body weight) over the summer.<\/p>\n Between Shult\u2019s video and Fat Marmot Week, I\u2019ve now consumed a vast array of marmot content. Marmots licking GoPro cameras<\/a>. Marmots hugging<\/a>. Marmots munching on rocks<\/a>? I have\u00a0awww<\/em>\u2018d and\u00a0ohhhh\u2019<\/em>d my way through all of the video clips showing these sentient stuffed animals doing cute little human things with their paws.<\/p>\n I also learned that, like all critters, marmots are undomesticated wild animals driven by instincts and hunger, and, if given the chance, they may ruin your afternoon. The Wall Street Journa<\/a>l <\/em>published a story accusing marmots of \u201cterrorizing\u201d guests in California\u2019s Sequoia National Park by licking hikers, stealing their shoes, and occasionally breaking into their vehicles. The WSJ<\/em> reporters also point out that marmots will sometimes crawl into the engine compartments of a parked car and devour cables, wires and hoses.<\/p>\n My newfound marmot interest left me with more questions than answers. So, I recently sought some info from the global expert on the critters: Professor Daniel Blumstein<\/a> \u00a0<\/strong>of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology\u00a0at the University of California, Los Angeles. Blumstein also oversees the Marmot Project at the RMBL, and spends his summers studying the cuddly critters near Gothic, Colorado. Here are some takeaways I got from our correspondence.<\/p>\n OK, so that marmot didn\u2019t crawl into the engine compartment of your Dodge Stratus looking to strand you at the trailhead parking lot. The critter was just really inquisitive\u2014one of the familiar traits of the species, Blumstein told me. It\u2019s the same reason why that marmot went up to Shult in Mount Rainier National Park. It wanted food. It wasn\u2019t afraid. And, by nature, it wanted to investigate the situation.<\/p>\nMarmots Are Curious<\/h2>\n