# @thetorontozoo on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQCSFqBgGfn
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35878459-thetorontozoo-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/cabc96100e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-20T15:13:32.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Toronto Zoo (@thetorontozoo) — https://gondola.cc/thetorontozoo

## Caption

There have been lots of comings and goings at your Toronto Zoo’s Vancouver Island Marmot breeding centre this fall 🐾
 
On this #MarmotMonday, we’re happy to share that at the end of September, ten Vancouver Island marmot pups born at your Toronto Zoo departed for the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Marmot Recovery Centre on Vancouver Island — the first step on their journey to the wild🐾 The pups will spend this winter hibernating at the Recovery Centre. Come the spring, they will be released to the wild on Mount Washington, in a protected area where they will practice natural behaviours like foraging, digging, and predator-avoidance. After a second hibernation (this time in the wild), they may be translocated elsewhere on Vancouver Island to bolster other wild colonies.
 
Meanwhile, four new adult marmots (three males and one female) have arrived at your Toronto Zoo from the Marmot Recovery Centre and Calgary Zoo as part of the recovery program’s genetic management strategy. Marmots breed in the spring immediately following their emergence from hibernation, so it is important to introduce new pairs in advance. Following the recommendations from the recovery team, three established pairs at the zoo are remaining together this winter. And, with some shuffling and the addition of the four new marmots, five new genetically-valuable pairs have just been introduced. Fingers crossed for some romantic chemistry in the spring!
 
Are you aware? Fewer than 30 Vancouver Island marmots remained in the wild in 2003 – they are native only to Vancouver Island and are considered Canada’s most endangered mammal. Your Toronto Zoo joined the recovery effort in 1997, and since then 214 marmots have been born at the Zoo, and the majority of these have been released into the wild. 
 
The efforts of the Marmot Recovery Program have been encouraging: in the 2024 field season, the Marmot Recovery Foundation observed 381 individuals in the wild 🐾#savingspecies

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## Tags

savingspecies, marmotmonday

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