The hillside is quiet. It’s early morning on a mountain in the northwestern United States. Daylight brightens the sky.
A stout, brown-furred animal with a yellowish chest and a white patch between his eyes emerges from his burrow under a rock pile. He’s a yellow-bellied marmot, also called rock chuck, one of fourteen species of marmots, closely related to ground squirrels and prairie dogs. He’s large for his kind, 2 feet (60 cm) long and weighing almost 11 pounds (5 kg).
Nearby more marmots come out of their burrows, males and females with their pups. The big marmot eyes his group. He’s looked upon as Chief of the colony. Some marmot colonies are small with only a couple of animals, but his has twenty individuals.
After grooming themselves and sunning in the warm sunshine, the colony begins to forage for food. It’s midsummer, so there’s plenty to eat: grass, leaves, forbs.
Suddenly Chief utters a piercing whistle. A warning! He’s noticed a coyote loping up the hillside toward them. The marmots scramble into their burrows, protected by being underground. After sniffing around the area for a while, the coyote gives up and trots away, still hungry. There will be no marmot for his breakfast.
Gradually the marmots return to the sunshine and their breakfast. More resting in the sun comes next, but the marmots keep their heads up and alert, watching for any sign of predators such as foxes, wolves, eagles, and coyotes.
Another marmot approaches Chief, but Chief makes a chattering noise with his teeth that says, “Don’t bother me!” The other marmot backs away. The pups play amongst themselves, chasing and play fighting, but they’re nearly seven weeks old now and soon will be on their own. Females will often stay at home base, but males, once they’re independent, usually leave the area.
September comes, and the marmots are eagerly eating as much as they can, to put on enough fat to last through hibernation. They’re digging deep burrows to stay in during the long winter, which lasts almost eight months. Hibernation burrows can be around 20 feet (6 m) deep. Their day-to-day burrows may be only 3 feet (1 m) deep.
But finally it’s time. The marmots move into their underground quarters to sleep until spring returns. Predators will roam the area as the months pass, but the marmots will stay safe and comfortable in their dens. For now, all is quiet on the hillside.
