A team of ecologists at the University of California, Los Angeles has taken an unusual route to keep one of the world's longest-running wildlife studies alive: posting videos of marmots on OnlyFans, a platform best known for adult content.
The account, named OnlyMarms, was created by Daniel Blumstein, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, after the US National Science Foundation turned down his lab's application to renew funding for its yellow-bellied marmot research.
A study older than most of its funders
The research in question is not a minor project. Researchers say the effort has monitored the animals continuously since 1962, and the account, launched in late May, appeared when the National Science Foundation declined to continue funding for what is now a 64-year effort, the second-longest study of individually marked mammals in the world.
The marmots live in and around the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory near Gothic, Colorado, a high-altitude field station used by scientists studying alpine ecosystems. Yellow-bellied marmots are large, burrowing rodents related to groundhogs, and their long hibernation and social behaviour have made them valuable subjects for studying ageing, cooperation and the effects of climate change on wildlife.
Free tips, not paywalled content
Unlike most OnlyFans accounts, OnlyMarms does not charge a subscription fee. The account offers free subscriptions but asks for tips to help offset federal funding cuts that have impacted the field studies. Content includes marmots digging into burrows, foraging and clambering over rocky outcrops in the Colorado Rockies.
Blumstein has been explicit about keeping the material wholesome. Speaking to the New York Times, he said his team's approach would stay firmly within family-friendly bounds.
“"It's going to be G-rated, and we're not going to sexualize this," Blumstein told The New York Times. "We're just going to have fun with sharing."”
One of Blumstein's graduate students, Emily Renkey, told the student-run Daily Bruin that the campaign reflects a broader mood of frustration among American scientists over the state of research funding.
“"OnlyMarms is meeting the moment of our public frustration over what this country funds," said Emily Renkey, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology and a researcher in the lab.”
Part of a wider funding squeeze
The marmot lab's predicament is not isolated. According to Complex, more than $700 million in NSF grants have been frozen or cut, with hundreds of grants at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory terminated as well. The cuts followed a broader push by the Trump administration to reduce federal research spending, a policy shift that has rattled US universities and field stations reliant on government support.
For European readers, the episode offers a striking contrast. Long-term ecological monitoring programmes on this continent, such as those run through the UK's Natural Environment Research Council or EU-funded biodiversity networks, depend on comparatively stable multi-year grant cycles. The marmot study's funding crisis illustrates how abruptly decades of continuous scientific data collection can be put at risk when a single funding decision changes.
The Blumstein Lab reports it has already received thousands of dollars in donations and tips since the account went live, according to the Daily Bruin. Whether that income can sustain a study spanning six decades remains uncertain, but for now the marmots of Gothic, Colorado have found an unlikely new audience.
This article is free to read. It always will be — no paywall, no account, no tracking.
