Tongue twisters. Frosty holidays. Scandals. Big ol’ rodent butts. Let’s talk groundhogs with UCLA conservationist, field biologist, professor and Marmotologist, Dr. Daniel Blumstein. We cover what broadly is a marmot, the Buddhism and paganism of the midwinter slump, marmot parenthood, what they are singing into the wind, how to co-exist with one in your garden, why they don't get stressed about holiday bingeing, the real estate layout of a groundhog lair, how and why we celebrate Groundhog Day, romantic advice you should not take from a marmot, what to do if you want a marmot as a pet, why their blood boggled science, and the wandering etymology behind their aliases. It’s an episode you’ll want to hear over and over. And over. And over. And over.

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Visit the Blumstein Lab and follow Dr. Blumstein on Google Scholar

A donation went to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Links to things we discussed:

Mating system and paternity in woodchucks (Marmota monax)

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Different characteristics of the soil in marmot habitats might be one of the factors that influcting Yersinia pestis prevalent in which than pikas

Plague Outbreak of a Marmota himalayana Family Emerging from Hibernation

E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution

Climate-driven marmot-plague dynamics in Mongolia and China

Bubonic Plague Strikes In Mongolia: Why Is It Still A Threat?

Plague activity identified in Colorado

Alexandre Yersin, The Man Who Discovered The Bacterium Responsible For The Plague