COLORADO — Voting opens Aug. 24 for the yellow-bellied marmot that gained the most weight this summer
Marmots are having a moment. Weighing up to roughly 11 pounds, these creatures use a variety of grasses and leaves across Colorado's Alpine Tundra.
Each year, marmots burrow deep into the soil beneath boulders, where they can lose half of their summer weight during hibernation throughout the winter, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory will kick off its first-ever Fat Marmot Week in less than a week, inspired by the famous "Fat Bear Week."
The goal is to get people excited about yellow-bellied marmots.
Visitors can vote on which marmot they think gained the most weight this summer on the laboratory's website. Voting opens Aug. 24.
The marmots are named after the fur marks researchers use to identify them. The contestants are:
- 1
- Stonehenge
- Dawn
- Open Kite
- Citroen
- Dan's Hat
So we want to know who you will be voting for early!
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Deadly flash flooding hits fire-stricken Beulah; one person killed
One person has died after a flash flood swept through the town of Beulah on Sunday. The community, already recovering from the Aspen Acres Fire, was hit with heavy rain and hail that caused a creek to overflow. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the victim swept away by the water.
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