Marmotology (GROUNDHOGS) with Daniel Blumstein

Oh, hey. It's the lady next to you at the salad bar covering up her iceberg lettuce with spring greens, Allie Ward. And this is Ologies. This is big squirrels. We got marmots. We got groundhogs. We got facts, figures, tongue twisters, and scandals. But first, thank you so much to patrons of the show. They make it possible, and you too can submit your questions before we record. And you can join Patreon for a dollar a month at patreon.com/ologies. Thank you to everyone out there in Ologies merch from ologiesmerch.com. And for $0, you can support us just by leaving a review. And to prove that I read them all, here's one from the scheming rat who wrote, this show is the best, not an opinion. PS, if you hate the swears and stuff, guess what? They write in all caps. She made another podcast just for you. Go to Smologies. Thank you, the scheming rat, for screaming that. And, yes, we have devised a classroom safe version of Ologies. It's available in its own feed wherever you have podcasts. It's called Smologies, s m o l o g I e s. Also, thank you to all the sponsors of the show who make it possible for us to donate to a cause of the ologist choosing each week. Okay. So Marmotology, the word marmot goes back to the Latin root, meaning mountain mouse. And this week, we have a true expert. They did their undergrad at the University of Colorado Boulder and then went to UC Davis for a master's and a PhD in animal behavior. They are now a researcher and a professor at UCLA's department of ecology and evolutionary biology. They've spent years and years and years studying the complex communication of marmots and integrating that into conservation efforts to influence environmental policy. And on a rainy January day here in LA, a few weeks ago, I got over to the university to lob some questions. But first, just got to UCLA. I'm here to interview the groundhog expert. I got out of my car, and I spilled 20 ounces of cold iced tea onto my crotch. It's so soaked. Like, it's not a little wet. It's soaked like I had hosed myself off. This is what happens when you do interviews in person. You really never know what you're gonna get. Hey. I'm Ally. You waiting for me? Yeah. Sorry about my pants. Alright. We're already off to a memorable start. But clearly, our ologist and the lovely Holly Ober in UCLA media relations, they were chill. They were down to clown. We went up to his office where he has all sorts of skulls and marmot art, even a roadkill groundhog that he and his wife, Janice, taxidermied themselves. And we chatted all about the rodent du jour, including how and why we celebrate Groundhog's Day, the Buddhism and paganism of the midwinter slump, romantic advice you should not take from a Marmot, …