Sunday, June 21, 2015

Introductions: Jenny Yang

Ready to RMBL!

Hi everybody! My name is Jenny Yang. I’m a third year undergraduate student at UCLA and have been part of Team Marmot for a little less than a year now. Having lived in the city all my life, I spent my first week at RMBL getting acclimated to the wonders of mountain life. Other than the pesky mosquitos that have been having a feast on body recently (I can only imagine what will happen when the biting flies come out) though, I have been having the best time! It has been amazing meeting so many passionate people and being surrounded by so much wilderness—the closest I get to nature on a daily basis in Los Angeles are the squirrels roaming around UCLA. I definitely see why people love RMBL so much and why so many come back time and time again!


In less than a week, I have already learned more than my brain can process! During my time with the Blumstein Lab at UCLA, I have worked a bunch with the poop samples, blood smears, and social interaction data that were collected on the marmots here at RMBL. Actually learning how to live-trap and observe these little guys, however, has offered me a whole new perspective on the work that I have been doing. While it was overwhelming at first to remember the different colony sites and individual marmots, which, by the way, are all insanely cute, I have found it such a rewarding and satisfying experience. I can only imagine what kind of craziness the next three months will bring!


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