Mammals · Rodentia · Sciuridae

Himalayan Marmot

Marmota himalayana

Least Concern

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

The Himalayan marmot is one of the highest-living mammals in the world: it occupies alpine meadows in Tibet, Nepal, India and Pakistan above 3,500 metres and reaches beyond 5,000. It lives in family colonies that dig deep burrows and share a system of alarm whistles. It spends between six and eight months hibernating in chambers sealed with earth and stones, emerging only when the snow frees the pasture. It is important prey for the Tibetan wolf and the snow leopard.

Weight

4 kg – 9.2 kg

Size

45 cm – 67 cm

Lifespan

15 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

MountainGrasslandHerbivore Diurnal Colonial Mountain Grassland Mammal

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Fun facts

It hibernates as a group, huddled in a sealed chamber, and over those months its body temperature and heart rate fall drastically so as to burn as little of its reserves as possible.
Its colonies are highly visible on the Tibetan uplands, where the animals stand up on their hind legs like sentries beside the burrow mouths.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Alpine meadows and high-altitude steppe of the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau, to over 5,000 m
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 30 days
Litter / clutch size: 4

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