Move over bears. Fat Marmot Week puts a spotlight on the alpine rodents

Researchers in Gothic, Colorado are launching Fat Marmot Week, an online contest inviting the public to vote for their favorite alpine rodent. The event follows a harsh winter in which insufficient snow failed to insulate marmot burrows, freezing many of the hibernating animals to death. The survivors have since fattened up, gaining the weight scientists say they need to make it through the next winter.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.