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Yellow-Bellied Marmot
The marmot is the largest of the Colorado ground squirrels, a close relative of the groundhog (woodchuck) of the East and Midwest.
About This Species
The yellow-bellied marmot is a heavy-set, grizzled brown animal with white patches on the chin and a yellowish belly. Marmots can be waddling fat in the fall, and their long fur makes them look even fatter.
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Physical Characteristics
The yellow-bellied marmot is a heavy-set, grizzled brown animal with white patches on the chin and (as the name suggests) a yellowish belly. Marmots can be waddling fat in the fall, and their long fur makes them look even fatter. Adults are about 26 inches long and weigh up to about 11 pounds.
Range
Marmots are widespread in western North America. Marmots are often associated with alpine meadows, but they actually live in suitable habitat down to the lower foothills.
Habitat
Marmots burrow deep into the soil beneath boulders to den. Up to half of their summer weight is lost during hibernation; animals with insufficient fat, or a burrow too shallow to prevent freezing, do not arouse in the spring.
Diet
Preferred foods are flowering stalks, but marmots eat the leaves of a variety of grasses and forbs.
Reproduction
After hibernation, the marmot emerges to mate as soon as green forage is available. After a 30-day gestation period, approximately five offspring are born. They are weaned at 20 to 30 days. A single male maintains a territory with a harem of several females, yearlings, and young of the year.
Threats to Species
Predators include the coyote, badger, bobcat, golden eagle, hawks, owls, weasels and marten. However, predation probably is a less important cause of mortality than is the stress of hibernation, as marmots are protected by a rocky habitat and a social system of alarm calls.