Commentary, nature, Photography

Marmots

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We have a colony of marmots along the rock breakwater at the edge of Okanagan Lake. M and I discovered them on one of our morning walks.

This one was stock still and keeping a close eye on us, ready to give his community a warning if needed.

There were a number of community members about, socialising and eating.

This one has a different colouration, probably because it seems to be younger.

There are quite a few different varieties of marmots, but essentially they are large ground squirrels and are a part of the family sciuridae. This family also includes the famous weather-predicting groundhogs of stage and screen.

This little community has found a great location to call home; it’s just around the bend in the path shown below, where it begins to follow the shoreline.

Happy Wednesday.

26 thoughts on “Marmots”

    1. Hi Andy, they grow to about 4-5 kilos (11 lbs) and are rather long-lived; it’s not uncommon for them to reach 15 or 16 years old. Those in the pictures are yellow-bellied marmots and are a protected species here.

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    1. Thank you very much, Wayne. Yes, they are related and are called yellow-bellied marmots, although the yellow fur is more around the neck than the tummy. They are also protected (all BC marmots are) but not nearly as endangered as the Vancouver Island marmots. This seemed to be a thriving little colony and in a good location in a park. So adorably cute, too.

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    1. Yes, I haven’t seen any marmots since the last time I was hiking in Banff, so I was happy to see this little group. All marmots are protected in BC, but especially the Vancouver Island marmots (found nowhere else in the world). Their numbers are recovering, but they’re still quite endangered.

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    1. I used to see many more of them years ago, especially when hiking in the mountains. Most marmots are protected now as their numbers are so low; for a long time they were relentlessly killed off as disease-ridden pests. I was happy to see this little group doing so well.

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  11. We actually saw a pair of marmots scampering around at Britton Creek rest stop on Tuesday. We have also seen the bigger hoary marmots (whistlers) on many of our Jasper hikes. Happy Thursday. Allan

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    1. Thank you, Allan. I haven’t seen any hoary marmots since the last time I hiked in Banff (near Lake Louise), and that was in 2011. Good to know that you’ve seen them in Jasper and that marmots in general seem to be doing better including the Vancouver Island marmot whose numbers dropped to only 30 at one point.

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  13. I often see them at that spot. Shy cute creatures. I have seen them in a few other spots, they seem to like relaxing on the warm rocks. Your pictures are very nice.

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