Marmots are one of the largest members of the squirrel family. They can be two feet in length and weigh up to 11 pounds. Their large body size is an adaptation to the cold, high elevation sites in which they live. Marmots have reddish-brown fur and a yellow belly, from which they get their name. They are related to woodchucks and groundhogs in other parts of the country.
A marmot's day consists of morning and evening feedings, while they spend the middle of the day and nights hidden in their burrows.
Marmots are omnivores and eat grasses, flowers, insects and even bird eggs when available. While feeding out in the open, one marmot stands as a sentinel and whistles sharply when danger is near.
Read MoreYellow-bellied marmots live in colonies of 10-20 individuals.
Marmots have been known since antiquity. Research by the French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed the story of the "Gold-digging ant" reported by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century BCE, was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai Plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Brokpa to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows.
Read MoreThis Marmot would like to give you a kiss for helping to save its home!
How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountain-top it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make - leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone - we all dwell in a house of one room - the world with the firmament for its roof - and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track.
John Muir
Washington, DC-- Today,the Washington Post reported that Trump will “divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget.”…
Oakland, CA—Sierra magazine’s January/ February edition is now on newsstands and arriving at subscribers’ homes. Highlights include:
Washington, DC-- Today, Congress released language for an appropriations package that includes $1.375 billion for border barrier construction with no restrictions on the President’s ability to transfer money from the military for border wall…
Oakland, CA— A federal court today ruled that President Trump’s use of emergency powers to divert $3.6 billion in military construction funds for the border wall is unlawful. The ruling came in a lawsuit, Sierra Club v. Trump, filed by the American…
WHAT: The Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, will be in federal court in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, November 20, at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) to block imminent border…