Eight yellow-bellied marmots. One gloriously chunky bracket. Fat Marmot Week turns the serious science of seasonal weight gain into a celebration of the alpine world's most committed bulkers.
Voting takes place on the official Fat Marmot Week website from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on matchup days.
Eight contenders enter the bracket and the first four matchups are decided.
The field narrows as four gloriously well-fed marmots compete for a place in the final.
The final popular-vote matchup determines the people's favorite.
The largest estimated weight is announced Aug. 29; the popular-vote winner follows Aug. 30.
We'll let the official site handle the ballots. This is the place to admire the field, follow the path, and pick a favorite before clicking over to vote.
The unusual names come from temporary, non-toxic fur marks researchers use to recognize individuals in the field.
Part of Stonehenge's matriline and spending this summer putting her energy into herself.
A recent arrival taking his role as stepdad to Open Kite's youngsters very seriously.
The RMBL townsite boss, with summer energy to spare for self-maintenance and mass gain.
Queen of the Bench colony matriline, champion caller, and resident of prime marmot real estate.
A longtime father who checks in on his territory, watches over pups, and apparently enjoys the taste of rocks.
A watchful mother who also makes time for landscaping and decorating the burrow she shares with another mom.
A young mother of six who can often be found soaking up sun on her favorite rock.
Short for Goblin. Loud, fast, territorial—and still somehow finding time to pack on the pounds.
Condensed from the official 2026 contender bios. Visit the official site for the full stories and updates.
The joke works because getting fat is genuinely serious business for a true hibernator.
Yellow-bellied marmots spend the growing season building the reserves they'll rely on through winter.
During true hibernation, metabolism and body temperature drop dramatically. Entering winter in good condition matters.
Long-term observation lets researchers connect individual lives, social behavior, survival, and environmental change.
The RMBL Marmot Project follows marked animals from birth to death and is one of the world's longest-running studies of individually marked wild mammals. Fat Marmot Week is a very funny window into a very serious body of ecological research.
Learn About RMBL ↗If Fat Marmot Week made your day, send that enthusiasm back to the people doing the field work. Vote through the official event site and consider supporting the Marmot Project's long-term research.
This promotional site is fan-made and is not the official voting site or an official RMBL publication.