Stanley Park Ecology Society News

Well not really ghosts per say, what we saw was more along the lines of rumours made flesh! We are very proud to be able to bring you photographic evidence of a critter that no-one has seen in Stanley Park for a very long time: the Yellow-Bellied Marmot!
You will not find the Yellow-Bellied Marmot on any of Stanley Park’s mammal checklists, nor will you find them described in the Vancouver Natural History Society’s newest book called “Wilderness on the Doorstep: Discovering Nature in Stanley Park” (which we have for sale - just ask!) You have to go back to the VNHS’s 1988 publication “The Natural History of Stanley Park” to find anything and there you will find, on the second-to-last page, a very brief mention of the colony that used live around Malkin Bowl in the 1950’s. It mentions that “one or two individuals may still survive” but who knew it was true!?!
To be honest, there have been rumours of people seeing them in different areas of the park for the last year or two, but no-one had any evidence. One of our school programmers (Tracy) spotted one the other day and Koren captured the picture you see below. Maybe Bobs and Lolo should write a Yellow-Bellied Marmot song for the “Playing For The Park” fundraiser on the 22nd.