The marmot is having a moment.
Researchers in Colorado have come up with a rather unique way to drum up funds for their study of these largest members of the squirrel family, who often appear in viral videos.
They’ve created “OnlyMarms,” an OnlyFans account for the animals.
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory has spent the last 65 years studying yellow-bellied marmots, but federal funding cuts have forced it to launch a clean-cut OnlyFans page. Funding to science research has taken a significant hit and hundreds of research grants have been terminated, according to June court filings.
“Marmots have money troubles, and I figured why not if we launch an OnlyFans site?” Daniel Blumstein, co-director of The Marmot Project at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, told TODAY in a story that aired July 29.
The name, Blumstein added, was the result of a student’s stroke of genius.
“I brought that idea back to the lab. One of my students is like, ‘Great idea!’” he said. “Someone else screamed out, ‘OnlyMarms! I’m like, ‘Oh yeah!’”
Marmots have made their presence online before, which may make an OnlyFans account a natural fit. There have been numerous videos starring marmots that have gone viral over the years. In one clip, which has received more than 1.3 million likes on TikTok, a marmot shows its adorable curiosity about human food. And in another, which receivd upwards of 3.1 million likes on the platform, a marmot gets a bath in a sink.
Blumstein, who leads a group who’ve dubbed themselves “The Marmateers,” said the suggestion to go the OnlyFans route was well-received by his fellow scientists.
While you can subscribe to OnlyMarms for free, it’s run by tips. And though OnlyFans is more known for adult-oriented content, Blumstein said marmots, who spend about seven months a year in hibernation, bring a different type of entertainment to users.
“This is G-rated, cute animals doing things,” he said.
If the notion of marmots parading around OnlyFans is hard to digest, the team’s got other fundraising avenues that appeal to others. Blumstein’s crew has also partnered with a local brewery to create a special edition beer called Marmot Tears.
Additionally, the researchers are taking a page from the popular Fat Bear Week at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, with Fat Marmot Week in August, a competition to see which one of the creatures can gain the most weight, with voting set to start Aug. 24.
“The epitome of a marmot is one that looks like a bread loaf by the end of the season. Body positivity is all about marmots. I mean, you want these guys to get obese,” Blumstein said.
