Marmots are a fan favourite at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, however, they are not without their critics.
Badgers and rattlesnakes, in particular, cause marmots a fair amount of grief. That being said, these critters have their own story as a native species to Vernon.
If you’ve ever wondered what makes a badger tick, visit the Allan Brooks Nature Centre Wednesday, July 8 at 7 p.m. to listen to Dr. Karl Larsen in his presentation, “Marmots beware: badgers and rattlers on the hunt.”
Paired with ABNC’s summer camp, Marmot Mania, Dr. Larsen will focus on two other animals that cause problems for marmots, the western rattlesnake and the North American badger.
Both of these critters are known predators of marmots, although they take very different approaches to hunting.
Dr. Larsen will bring in research from his lab on rattlesnakes and badgers to illustrate how amazing these two predators are, and how they can impact marmots and other small mammal populations.
He will also explain the conservation issues facing rattlesnakes and badgers in this province, and how we need to work together to stop these two iconic predators from disappearing from B.C.’s grasslands.
Larsen is a professor of wildlife ecology and management at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops. He grew up in Revelstoke before leaving to complete his degrees at the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta.
Following a few years in the forest industry, he took up a faculty position at TRU, where he has developed a broad research program focusing on the ecology and conservation of smaller vertebrates, particularly reptiles, amphibians and mammals.
He and his graduate students have worked on a wide array of species, including spadefoot toads, goshawks, pillbugs, turtles, squirrels, marmots, and of course, snakes and badgers.
Larsen currently teaches wildlife conservation courses and a field course in Belize, Central America, within the department of natural resource sciences at TRU.
Admission to his talk at the ABNC Wednesday is by donation.
For more information, visit www.abnc.ca.
