Mammals · Rodentia · Sciuridae

Hoary Marmot

Marmota caligata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The hoary marmot is the largest of the North American marmots and lives in the alpine meadows and boulder fields of the mountains of the north-west of the continent, from Alaska to Montana. It owes its name to the silvery fur of its shoulders and forequarters. It lives in family colonies with a dominant male and several females, and hibernates for seven to eight months a year. Its extremely high-pitched alarm whistle has earned it the nickname of whistler among mountaineers.

Weight

3.5 kg – 10 kg

Size

45 cm – 82 cm

Lifespan

14 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

MountainTundraHerbivore Diurnal Colonial Mountain Tundra Mammal

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Fun facts

Its alarm whistle is so shrill and powerful that it carries more than a kilometre across the boulder fields, and mountaineers in the American north-west know it simply as the whistler: the Canadian ski resort of Whistler is named after this animal.
It hibernates for up to eight months a year in deep burrows, huddled with the rest of the family group, and emerges only when the snow frees the alpine meadow.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Alpine meadows and boulder fields above the treeline, in the mountains of north-western North America
Sexual maturity: 2.5 years
Gestation / incubation: 29 days
Litter / clutch size: 4.2 (average)

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmota_caligata