Vancouver Island University: Two Vancouver Island University (VIU) Technicians working in collaboration with the Wilder Institute have spent almost two years building an electronic weigh scale to provide valuable research data on marmots in the wild. Engineering Technician Devin Ayotte and Resource Management and Protection Technician Michael Lester are working on a tool to help researchers investigate how body weight affects survival during hibernation and the number of pups female marmots wean in the spring.