A Colorado marmot study has turned to OnlyFans to raise money after federal funding cuts left its future uncertain. The marmot study, run by biologist Dr. Daniel Blumstein in Colorado, launched an account on the platform and began posting family-friendly videos of the animals in hopes of keeping the work going.
Blumstein told the BBC he set up the account in what he described as an act of desperation. The page, called OnlyMarms, features footage of marmots moving through their burrows and roaming in their natural habitat. So far, the effort has brought in more than $5,000, and after OnlyFans takes its share, about $4,000 will go to the UCLA-affiliated Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
The project has been running for more than 60 years and is the second-longest study of individually identified mammals in the world, behind Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee research in Tanzania. It focuses on the yellow-bellied marmot, one of 15 recognized marmot species in the Northern Hemisphere. Because the species is not threatened or endangered, researchers say it offers useful insight into the forces that shape population change.
Blumstein said long-term studies like this one are especially effective, even if getting federal backing has become difficult. He does not expect the OnlyFans work to cover the full cost of the project, but he said the campaign can still help draw attention to the science behind it. For the lab, the money matters; for the public, the visibility may matter just as much.
The idea came to him while he was waiting in a meadow for marmots to appear. After watching the TV show Margot's Got Money Troubles, he connected the title to the lab's own financial strain and floated the idea to students. They suggested the name OnlyMarms, and one student helped set up the account.
