According to the findings of a new study, led by Arpat Ozgul, an ecologist from Imperial College London, climate change in the Rocky Mountains of the Upper East River Valley of Colorado has helped the yellow-bellied marmots
(Marmota flaviventis) thrive.

Going by the findings, the population of the gluttonous rodents has witnessed a startling boom, with their numbers having increased three-fold over the last decade or so, which is being associated with the increasing size of their bellies – apparently a result of climate-driven changes due to which marmots are emerging earlier from hibernation and eating more.

Elaborating in more specific terms, the report, published in the July 22 edition of the journal Nature, reveals that the marmots have apparently grown from an average of about 3.1 kilograms during the first half of the
33-year-spanning study, to 3.4 kilograms in the second half.

The researchers elucidate that the advantage that the marmots are gaining from the global warming is apparently a rare example, more so as the increased temperatures spell increasing difficulties for several animals, including like polar bears, and harlequin frogs.

However, researchers have also cautioned that the beneficial effect that the climate change is having on the marmots is a temporary one, as the very forces that are presently helping marmots to thrive also bear the potential of bringing about their doom in the long run.