The winter predictions are in—can you guess what the verdict is?
Well, Vancouver Island has its own take on Groundhog Day, using a species that’s local to the island—Vancouver Island marmots!
Early this morning at the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Marmot Recovery Centre, Van Isle Violet was called to action to make her official prediction.
It’s not the grand or dramatic reveal you might be thinking—in fact, as described by the team at the Marmot Recovery Centre, it takes a more delicate touch.
Van Isle Violet’s the special chosen marmot up for the task, and has been working this casual side-gig since 2022, when she was just a yearling. That year she predicted six more weeks of winter, which proved to be accurate!
Her second prediction called for more winter too, which was also true.
Can you guess what her prediction this year was?
That’s right—six more weeks of winter…again. Stay cozy, Victoria—we’re not out of the wintery gates yet!
Perhaps she’s slightly biased and just prefers the extra sleep…we feel you, Violet.
For those of you who are curious, Van Isle Violet is a 3-year-old female Vancouver Island marmot and she plays a critical role in recovering her species population from extinction.
She is just reaching adulthood and will soon have her first litter of pups, who will be eventually released to the wild to further rebuild the fragile population.
You could say she’s a pretty big deal!
