Researchers' Desperate Move: Opening an OnlyFans to Fund Their Study
Researchers in the USA who lost funding for their long-term study have found a creative solution: selling "exclusive" photos and videos of cute rodents on a platform typically associated with adult content.
The OnlyFans platform is primarily known as a site where content creators sell intimate photos and videos for adults in exchange for a monthly fee. However, it turns out that the platform now hosts stars of a completely different kind: furry and chubby rodents.
Marmots (photo: shutterstock)
A team of researchers from UCLA has been conducting one of the world's longest-running studies on wild mammals since 1962, focusing on marmots in central Colorado. Recently, Professor Daniel Blumstein, who heads the project, was denied a research grant renewal, leading to a budget cut from the government fund.
Marmot (photo: shutterstock)
Instead of giving up, the lab team decided to take a desperate and creative step by opening an OnlyFans account named "OnlyMarms". On the page, they offer "unfiltered marmot content from the Rocky Mountains". Student Emily Renki, who manages the page, sifts through hours of nature footage to select the cutest videos and funny behaviors, collecting financial tips from users.
So far, the initiative has brought the lab a few hundred dollars—a sum sufficient for now to purchase the bait and food needed to attract and study the animals. In parallel with the OnlyFans account, the researchers also launched "Fat Marmot Week", where the public is invited to vote for the largest and cutest rodent captured on their cameras.
Marmot (photo: shutterstock)
