due to natural events or increased predation, leading to an inconsistent annual mortality rate. Related species Based on genetic analyses, the closest relatives of the Vancouver Island marmot are the hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) and the Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus). There is some debate, on genetic grounds, about which of the two nearby mainland species is most closely related to the Vancouver Island marmot or when marmots first arrived on the island. The differences in DNA observed between species is small. In 2009, Nagorsen and Cardini identified, from museum specimens, substantial physical differences between species that can only be explained by rapid evolution in a relatively isolated island context. Use as symbol Because of their endangered status, Vancouver Island marmots have become a conservation symbol in British Columbia. Mukmuk, "sidekick" to the three official mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, is portrayed as a member of the species. The Victoria Royals hockey team mascot, "Marty the Marmot", is based on the Vancouver Island marmot, which the team created to represent the importance of the species to the Vancouver Island region. The marmot was also the former mascot of the now defunct Victoria Salmon Kings hockey team. Wild marmots: Chopper, Marlu, and Van Isle Violet, Groundhog Day forecast, via the Marmot Recovery Foundation at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. References Further reading . Species at Risk series, B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, February 1999. 6 pp. Champan, Joseph A., and George A. Feldhamer, eds. Wild Mammals of North America. The Johns Hopkins UP, 1982. Michael, Huchins, ed. "Vancouver Island Marmot." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopidia. 16 vols. Gale, 2004. Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp. 754–818 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Wilson, Don E., and Sue Ruff, eds. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1999. "Vancouver Island Marmot." World Book Encyclopedia. 13th ed. Chicago: World Book Incorporated, 2008. External links Marmots Mammals of Canada Vancouver Island Endemic fauna of British Columbia Mammals described in 1911