REVERSING THE RED: A JOINT PLEDGE FOR CANADA’S MOST ENDANGERED MAMMAL
February 5, 2026
5 FEBRUARY 2026 (Calgary, AB) – High in the alpine meadows of Vancouver Island lives a species found nowhere else on Earth. Once nearly silenced, the high-pitched whistles of the Vancouver Island marmot now echo again across the mountaintops—an unmistakable sign of hope, and a testament to decades of collaborative conservation work.
Ahead of Reverse the Red Day on February 7th, the Wilder Institute, in partnership with the Toronto Zoo and the Marmot Recovery Foundation, is proud to announce an official Species Pledge to Reverse the Red for the Critically Endangered Vancouver Island marmot. Reverse the Red is a global movement dedicated to accelerating action for threatened and endangered species. This pledge reaffirms a shared commitment to securing a future for one of Canada’s most at-risk mammals.
“Working alongside our partners at the Toronto Zoo and the Marmot Recovery Foundation, we’ve seen incredible progress in the recovery of the Vancouver Island marmot—but there is still more to do,” said Dr. Brenna Stanford, Conservation Program Manager at the Wilder Institute. “This Species Pledge reaffirms our shared commitment to collaboration and action, and to creating a secure future for the species as we continue to strengthen recovery efforts.”
After a steep decline in the 1990s, the Vancouver Island marmot reached a critical low in 2003, with fewer than 30 individuals remaining in the wild across only five mountains. Through decades of coordinated conservation action, that trajectory has shifted. As of 2025, the wild population has grown to approximately 427 marmots, with 35 active colonies now spread across multiple mountain ranges on Vancouver Island.
While this progress is remarkable, recovery is not yet complete. The long-term goal is to reach a point where intensive interventions, such as conservation breeding and supplemental feeding, are no longer required. However, the population is not yet self-sustaining, and stepping back too soon could risk reversing success. This Species Pledge represents an ongoing commitment to ensure the species continues moving toward long-term recovery.
Since 1998, the Wilder Institute has supported Vancouver Island marmot conservation through its conservation breeding program, alongside Toronto Zoo and Marmot Recovery Foundation. Each year, marmot pups born in Alberta and Ontario are transferred to Vancouver Island to join the pups born at the Marmot Recovery Foundation’s facility. Here, they will spend their first hibernation under Marmot Recovery Foundations care before they are released into the wild. Some individuals are retained in conservation breeding programs to maintain genetic diversity and strengthen future recovery efforts.
“At your Toronto Zoo, we are proud to be Guardians of Wild, helping partners from around the world with species recovery efforts” says Dolf DeJong, CEO, Toronto Zoo. From reintroducing species through breeding programs, to educating our 1.3 million guests per year about conservation efforts, we’re envisioning and working towards a world where people, wildlife, and wild spaces thrive.”
In 2025 alone, six breeding pairs at the Wilder Institute’s Archibald Biodiversity Centre (ABC) successfully produced 17 pups, including two litters from newly matched pairs—an important contribution to the genetic health of the population. This same year, 12 yearlings born at the ABC in 2024 were released to the wild by the Marmot Recovery Foundation.
“This Reverse the Red Day, the Marmot Recovery Foundation is proud to be joining our partners in committing to an Official Species Pledge to the Vancouver Island marmot,” said Adam Taylor, Executive Director, at the Marmot Recovery Foundation. “Saving this only-in-Canada species from the brink of extinction has been the work of an incredible team over many years, but we know that the job is not done yet. Recovering the Vancouver Island marmot will take more on-the-ground work, more science, and more marmots! This is not just about the marmot. It is about showing Canada that together, we can save even the most endangered species.”
Together, these efforts, reinforced by the newly committed Species Pledge, are helping ensure the Vancouver Island marmot continues its return to the alpine meadows it calls home.
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