Marmots - chubby, ground-dwelling squirrels - are the latest stars on the adult platform OnlyFans. The unusual fundraiser is helping support a long-running Colorado marmot study after federal funding to universities was cut.
The effort comes from Colorado-based biologist Dr Daniel Blumstein, who heads the study and told the BBC he recently launched an account on OnlyFans, which is known mostly for sexually explicit content, and began posting
uncensored marmot contentin
an act of desperation.
The videos are family-friendly clips of the rodents scurrying around and popping out of their burrows, and they have so far generated more than $5,000 (£3,712). After OnlyFans takes its share, the UCLA-affiliated Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado will make about $4,000.
The Marmot Project has been running for more than 60 years and is the second-longest study of individually identified mammals in the world, after Jane Goodall's chimpanzee study in Tanzania. It focuses on the yellow-bellied marmot, one of the 15 recognised species of marmot found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Because the species is neither threatened nor endangered, the study helps scientists understand the factors that drive population changes, according to the lab. Blumstein said long-term studies such as these are very effective, but despite that he has been unable to secure federal support.
While the lab will probably not be able to generate enough money through OnlyFans to save the project from spending cuts, he believes raising awareness about the work is also important.
How did the OnlyFans idea start?
The idea came to Blumstein while he was sitting in a meadow waiting for marmots to emerge from the ground. He had recently watched the TV show Margot's Got Money Troubles, where Elle Fanning's character starts an OnlyFans account to support herself as a single mother.
Marmots' got money troubles,
he thought to himself.
Maybe we should do something a little risqué.
He raised the idea with his lab students, who came up with the name OnlyMarms, and one student helped him set up the account.
There was a brief problem during verification, when he had to upload a photo of his driver's licence. The platform flagged that he did not look like the account's profile photo of a marmot, but a quick email exchange cleared the way for them to begin posting videos.
What can users see on OnlyMarms?
On OnlyMarms, users can see the Rocky Mountain marmots in their natural habitat. They are not as social as their alpine counterparts, Blumstein said, and the female marmots get grumpier as they age.
In one video, a female marmot chases away a male who got too comfortable in her burrow. In another, a female is described as
the queen of the townas she is caught on camera in the sun.
The lab does not give its subjects human-sounding names, in an effort to avoid bias in the research. Instead, the rodents are marked with dye and called things like
dans_hat,
open_kiteand
Citroën.
What else is the lab doing to attract attention?
The scientists have also launched Fat Marmot Week, styled after Fat Bear Week, where the public can vote for their favourite rotund rodent in a bracket-style tournament at the end of August. As hibernating animals, marmots put on weight before winter.
It's fun to root for the chunkiest marmot, but behind the fun and games is a deathly serious competition against nature to pile on fat to survive the long, cold winter,Blumstein said in a press release announcing the tournament.
Key Facts
- The Marmot Project has run for more than 60 years.
- It is the second-longest study of individually identified mammals in the world.
- The OnlyFans account has raised more than $5,000 (£3,712) so far.
- After fees, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory will receive about $4,000.
- Fat Marmot Week will take place at the end of August.
