The inaugural Fat Marmot Week was announced by the lab in late July as a way to raise awareness about the mammals and long-term research conducted at the site. How the Fat Marmot Week winner will be crownedTo vote in Fat Marmot Week — Aug. 24-29 — or learn more about the contenders, visit Sites.Google.com/view/fatmarmotweekThe bracket will open for voting on Aug. 24 and eight marmots will face off round-by-round until the winner is crowned Aug. 29. To prepare to enter this state — and for the inaugural Fat Marmot Week — marmots’ diets consist almost exclusively of flowers. “Fat Marmot Week is supposed to not only teach people something, but also make them feel like they’re a participant in the work in some way.” In the Fat Marmot Week news release, Blumstein said that marmots specifically help “give us a window on the health of high-alpine ecosystems.”