Victoria’s most famous sleeping beauty is keeping his fans waiting.
Roger the yellow-bellied marmot has yet to pop his head up from his winter hibernation at his longtime home in the grounds of Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Estimated to around 18 years old, the seasoned snoozer has already outlived the typical 15-year life expectancy of a wild yellow-bellied marmot, which has caused some to worry this latest nap may have been his final curtain call.
However, his admirers are not ready to say goodbye to the rotund rodent just yet. After all, Roger isn’t just your average rock chuck, he’s more of a ‘rock star chuck’.
Accustomed to his life of pampered luxury in what the hotel calls the “best harbour front suite in Victoria,” Roger is known to play by his own hibernation rules, emerging on his own timetable.
Native to southwestern Canada and the western United States, yellow-bellied marmots are known to hibernate for about eight months of the year in their underground burrows, typically from September to May.
But diva Roger reportedly has two hibernation periods: a winter snooze from October to March, and a summer siesta when temperatures climb too high.
His unpredictable nature has fans clinging to hope.
Fairmont’s director of public relations Lisa McPhail confirmed there has been no official Roger sighting this spring. However, he was last spotted in November, which McPhail notes is out of character for the critter.
She theorizes that a mild fall and a cooler start to spring may have thrown off his internal body clock.
“Our resident marmot is keeping to a rather selective schedule this season and has yet to make an appearance,” she said.
“For now, we’re enjoying the suspense and the possibility that he’s simply waiting for the perfect moment to make a grand entrance. As one of our most charming local characters, we most certainly look forward to his reappearance on his own accord.”
Not native to the Island, local legend says the yellow-bellied marmot hitched a ride from Alberta on board an RV, travelling to Victoria where he made his home in the grounds of the Inner Harbour hotel in 2008.
Named in honour of former general manager Roger Soane, the portly personality has spent nearly two decades ruling over the Centennial Garden’s rockery, with four colonies of bees as neighbours.
News of Victoria’s collective concern for its most famous marmot charmed visitors strolling through the hotel’s gardens Monday (April 20).
Visiting from Kelowna for her first-ever ‘girls’ weekend’ with friends and family, Sherri Auvigne had not heard of Roger, but quickly became invested in his story, promising to keep her eyes peeled for him during her stay.
She noted that excitement over a rodent’s return might not land the same on the mainland.
“If you were on the prairies, you would be very upset to have a marmot come back because they make a lot of mess – they dig up your flowers,” she said.
“It’s good to know that people do actually care about this kind of stuff, because there’s so much bad news at the moment.”
Others exploring the gardens also leaned on the side of optimism.
“He’ll be back, there’s so much nature here,” said one passerby confidently.
READ MORE: Empress and the beast: Victoria hotel’s turf war with marmot Roger.
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