Commentary, nature, Photography

Marmot Sightings

44 Comments

We have a large marmot colony living nearby in the rock breakwater next to an area of the lake.

They are awake, active and very healthy looking after their hibernation.
They will allow people to observe them but getting too close makes them nervous and they will disappear into their large communal burrow below the rocks.
I love how they are constantly greeting each other with great affection and murmurings.

All marmots, including the ones above, are protected in British Columbia, especially the Vancouver Island marmots which have been brought back from the brink of extinction but whose numbers are still critically low.

Happy Tuesday.

44 thoughts on “Marmot Sightings”

    1. They definitely fall into the adorable category. They used to be hunted but apparently their biggest issue now is climate change. Their hibernation cycle is badly affected and they don’t seem to recover well from that.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Interesting to see the marmots in this environment. We have only seen them when hiking in the mountains. Glad they are out and about and healthy. Happy Tuesday Lynette. Allan

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Allan. I agree. Up until this group, I had only seen them in the mountains – alpine rockfalls are their preferred environment. They have apparently been in that same location next to the lake for about ten years. It’s also near a footpath, too, so lots of people stop to admire them but it does mean that they are in close proximity to humans.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. They are extremely cute. Cougars, coyotes, wolves and eagles prey on them. Since they’re in a city it’s unlikely that these marmots would be bothered by four-legged predators, but we have a bald eagle pair nearby that will be watching them.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi Lori, they are members of the squirrel family and weigh about 2-11 kg (4.4 -24.2 lbs). They weigh more at the end of summer in preparation for hibernation. Beavers and otters are much larger but muskrats would generally be smaller. They usually live in mountainous areas in western Canada and Alaska; I don’t think they exist in the east at all. They’re extremely cute!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. They sure are, Linda. I’ve started sitting on a nearby bench to watch them for a few minutes. They accept my presence as long as I don’t move too much. If I’m still they will all start coming out of their burrow; so far I’ve seen about 15 of them at a time. Yes, so cute.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.