US Biologist Turns to OnlyFans to Fund Marmot Research After Budget Cuts
A Colorado biologist, Dr. Daniel Blumstein, has found an unconventional way to save his financially struggling research project. The scientist, who leads a long-term study on marmots, decided to create an account on the platform OnlyFans and upload ‘uncensored marmot content’.
Blumstein told the BBC that the bold move was an ‘act of desperation’ after federal funding cuts to universities threatened the continuity of his research. Although OnlyFans is known for explicit adult content, Blumstein’s uploads are entirely family-friendly. The videos feature the amusing antics of plump ground squirrels as they run around and emerge from their burrows. So far, the account, named OnlyMarms, has generated over US$5,000 (approximately Rp80 million). After the platform’s cut, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, affiliated with UCLA, will receive around US$4,000.
The Marmot Project, which focuses on yellow-bellied marmots, has been running for over 60 years. It is the second-longest mammal study in the world, after Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee research in Tanzania. Because the species is not endangered, its study helps scientists understand the factors driving population changes in animals.
The idea for the OnlyFans account came to Blumstein while he was sitting in a meadow waiting for marmots to emerge from the ground, after watching the TV show ‘Margot’s Got Money Troubles’. ‘Marmots are having money troubles,’ he thought at the time. ‘Maybe we should do something a little edgy.’ After discussing it with his lab students, they came up with the name OnlyMarms. The account faced a technical hiccup during identity verification when a profile picture of a marmot did not match his driver’s licence photo, before it was eventually activated.
On OnlyMarms, followers can see the lives of Rocky Mountain marmots in their natural habitat. In one video, a female marmot is seen chasing a male who has become too comfortable in her burrow, while in another, a female is dubbed the ‘queen of the town’ as she sunbathes. In addition to using OnlyFans, the scientists also launched Fat Marmot Week at the end of August, where the public can vote for their favourite chubby marmot. ‘It’s fun to root for the fattest marmot, but beneath the game is a very serious competition against nature to pile on the fat to survive the long, cold winter,’ Blumstein said in a press release.