Howdy! My name is Vanessa Alejandro and I am
from Houston, Texas! I attend the University of Houston and just completed my
freshman year. The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory is my first research
experience and I must say that it’s an absolute pleasure to
wake up in the beautiful mountains of Colorado and be able to embark in the
wonderful adventures of marmoteering.
I
was lucky enough to be able to conduct an amazing project involving pups.
Initially, I studied the personality trait of boldness in marmot pups. However,
the project took a complete turn once the results were analyzed. Now, my
project involves the development of boldness and aggression in marmots. I
studied boldness through flight initiation tests, which basically means I
walked towards the pups at a constant pace until the pup chose to flee. The
closer I got to the pup the bolder the pup was and vice versa.
Doing
marmot research here at RMBL has been an amazing experience and thankfully is
not over yet! I have seen more animals here than I have my entire life. I have
seen three foxes, two weasels, a vole, several mice, a coyote, several fawns,
several deers, and numerous birds! Hopefully, I will be able to see either a
bear or mountain lion before I leave! Just the other day, I was slowly but
surely making my way up the steep slope of a marmot colony named Picnic when I
heard a bizarre sound. It sounded like combination of a whine but cry. The
noise stopped and I continued on my trek when I heard it again! I quickly scanned
the surrounding area looking for some sign of life. Then I saw a cute fawn
running up the slope as a coyote chased it.
(The awesome Cody McCoy and I on the peak of another mountain
called Galena)
Marmoteering
has not been the only source of my adventures. During my time off I have
explored the mountains around Gothic. A few weeks ago Cody (fellow marmoteer
and amazing friend) hiked up to the peak of Gothic. We started out at hiking in
beautiful weather. The sun shined its warmth upon us and the wind provided a
wonderful cool breeze, creating a perfect balance of cool and hot. We reached
what seemed to be the peak but encountered a false summit. Unfortunately, this
occurred another two times. Finally, on the third false summit we could see the
actual peak of Gothic Mtn, but in order to reach this summit we had to walk
across a thin ridge line. Before you knew it, we were walking across that ridge
without a trace of fear on our faces and a knot in our stomachs. We reached the
edge of the peak and climbed it quickly. We felt a moment of triumph as we
stood on one of the highest peaks in the valley. Just as our hearts swelled
with victory and awe we were attacked by hundreds of flies. As we climbed down
the mountain, a storm cut across the sky and sent hail down our way. The hail
quickly went from pin sized to marble sized and sent us running to the trees.
Unfortunately, in our rush to safety we lost the trail and spent four hours
trying to find a passable route to the road. It was definitely a great adventure.
This
experience has allowed to do absolutely amazing things, like sleep under the
stars, summit mountains, camp alongside lakes, mountain bike, trap cute marmot
pups, and make great friends like Cody, Matt, Ellen, Alex, and many others. I
am so glad I have two more weeks left of some of the most amazing times of my
life.
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