Hoary Marmot | Alaska Photos | Alaska Photo

Watch a couple of cubs frolic on a mountainside with their mother in the Alaska wilderness. (1min 8sec)

Hoary Marmot

• This marmot found a perfect place to live and blend in.
   Hatcher Pass, Alaska
   Photo taken August - 2005
   By Dennis Zaki

Hoary marmots are large rodents that live mainly in alpine areas. Their loud, clear warning calls are a common sound in the mountainous regions of Denali. Marmots are burrowing animals and their lifestyles revolve around their burrows. Marmots live in loosely formed colonies made up of small family units (a pair of adults and their offspring). Colonies usually occur as "neighborhoods" of two or more family-based colonies. Marmots live in areas that provide good subsurface protection, escape from predators, food supplies, and relief from annoying insects. These areas often occur at high elevations near cliffs and rocky outcrops, and at the base of talus slopes.