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
San Francisco, CA-- Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on a challenge to President Trump’s abuse of emergency powers to take border wall funds Congress denied. The lawsuit, Sierra Club v. Trump, was brought…
WHAT: On Tuesday, November 12th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on a challenge to President Trump’s abuse of emergency powers to take border wall funds Congress denied. The lawsuit, Sierra Club v. Trump,…
Tucson, AZ-- Today, the Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) William Pendley stated that Trump’s border wall is “addressing the environmental crisis impacting our nation’s most vulnerable lands.” Yet, the President’s wall has…
Washington, DC— Today, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed the Homeland Security Appropriations Act—a budget that include $5 billion more for border walls, funding for 6,800 more immigration detention beds and 119 new border patrol agents…
Washington, DC-- Today, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced the Trump administration will transfer over 560 acres of public lands to the Army to build roughly 70 miles of border barriers. The acreage includes public and desert lands…