Marmots

The things I learn while researching post on this blog sometimes astonish me. For example this animal that goes by the name Marmot. I have never heard of before but grew very interested when I learned that it is a large squirrel. It looks nothing like the squirrels in our area.

The Marmot lives in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Carpathians, and Pyrenees in Europe as well as in Northwestern Asia. The Rocky Mountains, Black Hills, The Cascade and Pacific Ranges in North America. Other Marmots live in grasslands and can be found across North America

These animals live in burrows often in rock piles. They also hibernate through the winter. Most are highly social and use loud whistles to communicate with one another when alarmed. They often dine on greens , grasses, berries, mosses , roots and flowers