Facts and Figures
The marmot genus includes 15 species found across the northern hemisphere. As rodents, they are related to mice and squirrels.
What stands out is their size. Marmots are much larger than many of their relatives. The Alpine marmot, for example, can reach a head-and-body length of up to 50 cm, making it the third-largest rodent in Europe after porcupines and beavers. Its different species are widespread and vary greatly in appearance and social behaviour.
Only the Alpine marmot inhabits the Alpine region, and today we will focus on this species as a representative of the genus.
Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota)
Also known as: Mankei or Murmel (Austria, southern Germany), Mungg (Switzerland)
- Order: Rodents
- Suborder: Squirrel relatives
- Family: Squirrels
- Subfamily: Ground squirrels
- Tribe: True ground squirrels
- Genus: Marmots
- Species: Alpine marmot
- Head and body length: 40–50 cm
- Tail length: 10–20 cm
- Weight: varies throughout the year, minimum 3 kg (males)
- Distribution: Alps, Carpathians, High Tatras, Pyrenees, Black Forest
- Habitat: treeless areas from 800 metres up to around 200 metres above the tree line, occasionally as high as 3000 metres
- Diet: roots, leaves, flowers, herbs and grasses
- Active: daytime
- Hibernation: October to March
- Mating season: April and May
- Gestation period: about 5 weeks
- Life expectancy: average of 12 years
Appearance and Characteristics
The Alpine marmot looks like a cross between a beaver, an oversized guinea pig and a very plump cat. Coat colour varies from dark grey to light brown and reddish, with some individuals appearing almost black.
Their heads are usually dark, while their snouts are noticeably lighter. The fur is thick, offering excellent protection against the cold. Despite their shaggy appearance, their coat feels surprisingly soft, similar to a dog’s. They moult once a year, usually in June.
Marmots are stocky, with particularly strong shoulders. They have four toes on their front feet, which helps them dig, and five toes on their hind feet. Like humans, they walk on the whole sole of their feet and can use their front paws to hold food or objects.
As rodents, marmots have characteristic teeth. Their long incisors, which grow continuously and are also used for digging, are especially striking.
Lifestyle and Distribution
Marmot species are spread across the northern hemisphere. Their exact classification is complex, and distinctions between species are sometimes debated among scientists. For our overview, here is where the main species are found:
Europe
- Steppe marmot: mainly Eastern Europe, also parts of Central Asia
- Alpine marmot: Alps, Carpathians, High Tatras, Pyrenees, and isolated areas in low mountain ranges such as the Black Forest and Swabian Jura
America
- Alaska marmot: northern Alaska
- Hoary marmot: Alaska, west coast of Canada and northern USA
- Yellow-bellied marmot: western Canada and USA (Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada)
- Woodchuck: North America, mainly Canada and northern USA
- Olympic marmot: US state of Washington, endemic to the Olympic Peninsula
- Vancouver marmot: Canada, Vancouver Island
Asia
- Grey marmot: Kazakhstan, north-western China, Mongolia
- Black-capped marmot: Siberia (from Lake Baikal to Kamchatka)
- Long-tailed marmot: Central Asia (Tianshan Mountains, Hindu Kush, Karakorum, Kashmir)
- Himalayan marmot: Himalayas, western China
- Forest steppe marmot: south-western Siberia, endemic to the Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo regions
- Menzbier’s marmot: Tian Shan Mountains (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, north-western China)
- Siberian marmot: southern Siberia, Mongolia
The Alpine Marmot.
The Alpine marmot lives in family groups made up of a pair of parents and offspring from several generations. A family can easily include up to 20 animals. Within the group there is a clear hierarchy, yet marmots are extremely social and will sometimes adopt orphaned animals from other families. All members take part in building and maintaining the burrow.
This species inhabits the regions mentioned earlier, usually from the tree line up to about 200 metres above it. Occasionally, cleared and permanently treeless areas below this range are also used. In general, however, marmots are only found at altitudes above 800 metres.
From an evolutionary perspective, marmots are considered primitive animals. They were already present in Europe during the Ice Age, mainly in lowland areas. Their bodies are perfectly adapted to cold climates but they struggle with heat.
As temperatures have risen, they have migrated to higher, cooler altitudes. Today, they occupy alpine meadows with deep soil, which provides ample space for their burrows.
Burrows and Hibernation
Burrows are dug over generations and form extensive systems of chambers and tunnels. There are two main types:
- Summer burrows: used during the warmer months, these are relatively shallow and serve as refuges from predators and the summer heat.
- Winter burrows: dug much deeper, they are frost-proof and contain several large sleeping chambers as well as smaller chambers for waste. In late summer, marmots line the burrows with hay collected from meadows, creating warm, padded chambers for hibernation.
Marmots hibernate together, with several family members sharing a chamber to keep warm. Hibernation lasts five to six months and is occasionally interrupted when the animals briefly wake to deposit waste. However, they remain in a semi-sleep state rather than fully waking.
During hibernation, Alpine marmots lose up to a third of their body weight, so building sufficient fat reserves in summer is vital. Interestingly, hibernation is not triggered by dwindling food supplies or falling temperatures, but by an internal body clock that tells them when to start and when to wake.
Useful and Useless Marmot Knowledge
- Marmots are classed as game animals. Several thousand are killed each year in Austria and Switzerland, while in Germany hunting is banned due to a year-round closed season. Hunters traditionally refer to females as cats, males as bears and the young as monkeys.
- Once killed, marmots can be used in various ways. Their meat is considered a delicacy, though its flavour is often described as “challenging”. The fat is rarely eaten but is used in ointments and tinctures in folk medicine, believed to have healing and pain-relieving properties. The fur is occasionally made into jackets and coats, and in the past was used medicinally. Marmot teeth are regarded as hunting trophies.
- Natural predators include the golden eagle, which can kill up to 70 adults in a breeding season. Red foxes, ravens and pine martens mainly target young marmots. When danger is sensed, marmots warn their family with a loud whistle. Contrary to earlier assumptions, they do not assign a guard for this purpose. Whistling is just one of many sounds they use to communicate.
- The name “marmot” does not have anything to do with murmuring or kidney stone marbles. It derives from the Old High German word “murmunto”, itself from the Latin “mus montis”, meaning mountain mouse.
- Groundhog Day is celebrated every year on 2 February in several US towns. It is a cultural festival that playfully predicts the arrival of spring. Woodchucks are coaxed from their burrows after hibernation. If they see their shadow, winter is said to last another six weeks. If not, spring is supposedly near. Studies show the accuracy rate is only 37%, which is pure chance.
- The 1993 film Groundhog Day tells the story of a self-centred weather forecaster trapped in a time loop, reliving the day endlessly. The film is set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Groundhog Day has been celebrated since 1886 with the famous Punxsutawney Phil. Filming, however, took place in Woodstock, Illinois, which has since introduced its own celebrations with Woodstock Willie.
