What to Know
Times are so tough that even marmots have joined OnlyFans. How did it get to this point? According to a recent report from SFGATE, researchers who study these large rodents that belong to the squirrel family have been struggling to secure funding. Their concerns about funding their research and keeping their program going were made worse by the Trump administration, which has cut funding for research programs and canceled grants.
Faced with these challenges, the marmot researchers started to think of creative ways to raise money to fund their research. So, they turned to OnlyFans.
It might sound strange, but they’re not using OnlyFans in the same way it’s often used.
The platform is known for adult content, but it’s not limited to that. Those who choose to subscribe to the marmots’ OnlyFans account (called “OnlyMarms”) and support the research can expect to receive regular photos and videos of marmots looking cute or doing interesting things, SFGATE reported.
Daniel Blumstein, the biologist and professor who oversees the research project, told The New York Times that although the content is shared via OnlyFans, it’s actually “G-rated.”
When Blumstein shared the OnlyFans account idea with his colleagues, not everyone was so sure about it.
But Emily Renkey, a graduate student in his lab, started the account and now manages it. This involves watching the footage they’ve captured and looking for intriguing moments to share with subscribers.
“Sometimes I’m just posting the videos I think will get the most ‘aws,'” she told SFGATE. “But my favorite is when I find footage of a particular behavior and I can use that to educate people.”
As of now, OnlyFans alone won’t help the researchers sustain their work. They’re still exploring other funding options as well. However, people do seem interested in supporting their research and their OnlyMarms account. So far, they’ve raised several hundred dollars in tips (Those who are interested in receiving marmot updates can subscribe for free, and tips help fund the research).
Overall, people aren’t sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, it seems like a cool (albeit unusual) way to inform the general public about marmots. On the other, it’s unfortunate that it’s come to this point. In a Reddit thread about the “OnlyMarms” account, reactions were quite mixed. Overall, although it’s cute and fun, people hate that researchers have to do this in an attempt to get funding for their work.
“Weird times man,” one Redditor wrote. In response, someone else said, “As they say modern problems require modern solutions.”
Of course, the Trump administration’s research funding cuts have concerned a lot of people. The fact that marmots are on OnlyFans now feels like a symptom of a much larger problem. “They’d care more about their yachts and greed than the earth they living on going extinct,” one person wrote.
“This is awful that they have to resort to this,” someone else said. And another commenter saw the marmot OnlyFans account as further evidence that “we are living in the strangest version of reality.”
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