{"id":57883,"date":"2025-08-09T22:41:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T22:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/57883\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T22:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T22:41:12","slug":"kamloops-mammoth-sized-marmot-has-a-superfan-in-scotland-infonews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/57883\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamloops&#8217; &#8216;mammoth-sized&#8217; marmot has a superfan in Scotland | iNFOnews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                    <a id=\"lnkImgNews\" href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/orig-mediaitemid110108-1011.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"imgNews\" title=\"A felt replica of Kamloops' tubby marmot and said tubby marmot in all their glory.\" src=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/hd-mediaitemid110108-1011.png?q=90\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A felt replica of Kamloops&#8217; tubby marmot and said tubby marmot in all their glory.<\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: SUBMITTED \/ Aliya Hashmi \/ Taylor Borth<\/p>\n<p>            &#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                August 09, 2025 &#8211; 6:00 AM&#13;\n            <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tAn obese marmot photographed in a Kamloops park in July earned local and provincial fame after the photo went viral on social media, and the chunker now has a superfan in Scotland.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tAliya Hashmi is an artist and crafter living in Glasgow who makes animal characters out of felt, and after scrolling the internet looking for new ideas, she came across an article by iNFOnews.ca showcasing the fat critter and fell in love with it.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\u201cI saw that article online and the discussion under it and people talking about the mammoth-sized marmot and found it so funny, I just knew I had to make a version of it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is something soothing about it&#8230; just so funny, cute and relatable.\u201d\u00a0&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tHashmi made a needle felted replica of the marmot and named it Marmoti, as the word \u2018moti\u2019 means &#8216;fatty&#8217; in the language of Urdu that is spoken in Pakistan and India. She is prepared to make more replicas for anyone who wants one.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/orig-mediaitemid109802-1510.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentUrl\" src=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/hd-mediaitemid109802-1510.jpg?q=90\" height=\"501\" width=\"700\" alt=\"This obese marmot lives at a park in Kamloops. \" style=\"max-width:100%\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This obese marmot lives at a park in Kamloops. <\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: SUBMITTED\/ Taylor Borth <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe massive marmot was <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsitem\/mammoth-sized-marmot-spotted-in-kamloops-park\/it109802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">photographed by Kamloops wildlife photographer Taylor Borth<\/a> on July 6, and it isn\u2019t clear whether it was pregnant or overfed by the public.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIn the days that followed, <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsitem\/fans-of-chunky-kamloops-marmot-come-up-with-10-names\/it109855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">local fans of the marmot submitted names for it to iNFOnews.ca.<\/a>&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tHashmi makes nature inspired art using found objects such as animal bones and upcycled materials and to date has created hundreds of needle felted animals with a comical flair to \u201cmake people smile.\u201d&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/orig-mediaitemid110108-6912.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentUrl\" src=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/news\/medialibrary\/image\/hd-mediaitemid110108-6912.jpg?q=90\" height=\"494\" width=\"700\" alt=\"This needle felted replica of an obese marmot in Kamloops was made by an artist in Scotland. \" style=\"max-width:100%\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This needle felted replica of an obese marmot in Kamloops was made by an artist in Scotland. <\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: SUBMITTED\/ Aliya Hashmi <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tShe had never heard of Kamloops before discovering the mega-marmot but has always wanted to travel to Canada to view landscapes and wildlife.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\u201cI love this tubby marmot and have since shared the story to other friends in the UK who will get a laugh out of it.\u201d&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/specsowlart.bsky.social\/post\/3lvnn37ytpc2n\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">You can connect with Hashmi and check out her work on her Instagram here.<\/a>&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tTo contact a reporter for this story, <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsitem\/kamloops-mammoth-sized-marmot-has-a-superfan-in-scotland\/mailto:sainslie@infonews.ca\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">email Shannon Ainslie<\/a>\u00a0or call 250-819-6089 or <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsitem\/kamloops-mammoth-sized-marmot-has-a-superfan-in-scotland\/mailto:news@infonews.ca\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">email the editor<\/a>. You can also submit <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsitem\/kamloops-mammoth-sized-marmot-has-a-superfan-in-scotland\/mailto:tips@infonews.ca\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom<\/a>\u00a0and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWe welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won&#8217;t censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. <a href=\"https:\/\/infotel.ca\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here<\/a>.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n            &#13;\n            <\/p>\n<p>                News from \u00a9 iNFOnews, 2025<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"logoPress\" title=\"iNFOnews\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/infotel_news_logo.png\" alt=\"iNFOnews\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            &#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; A felt replica of Kamloops&#8217; tubby marmot and said tubby marmot in all their glory. 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