What is a Marmot?

What is a marmot?

A marmot is part of the squirrel family. They have quite bulky bodies, and their tail is approximately one third as long as their body (talk about a tripping hazard). They have small ears with rough fur. Because they spend a lot of time digging and burrowing into the ground, they have really strong feet and claws. On the alpine marmot, its thumbs have nails while the rest of its fingers have claws. Their colour can range from a bit yellow, to a bit red, to a bit brown.

Alpine marmots have been around since the ice age! (That’s like really, really, old.)

Where do marmots live?

You can find marmots north of the equator in places like the United States, Canada, and in Europe nears the Alps, and in Asia north of the Himalayas.

Marmots can both swim and climb trees, but they will spend most of their time on the ground. In fact, marmots spend an impressive 80% of their lives underground! (I hope they invest in a good torch and some long life batteries.)

They dig burrows for them to live in on plains, in highlands meadows, and on the outskirts of forests. And these aren’t simple burrows that they dig, but really elaborate ones with more than one entrance and lots of tunnels leading to other parts. Makes sense, seen as they spend most of their time in there.

Marmots will hibernate in their burrows in the winter - this is how some animals deal with winter. Because it’s so cold outside, some animals will go into a deep sleep (or hibernate) in a safe space until winter is over. During this hibernation, a marmot will breathe really slowly with a slowed down heart beat. It also cools down its body to within a few degrees of freezing. This hibernation period can last up to nine months. But marmots will even take shelter in their burrows in summer, because they’re very temperature sensitive. An increase in temperature can lead to habitat loss for the marmot.

They’re fantastic diggers, using their fore-pars and back feet to push away the soil. They can even help out with their teeth to remove any stones in the way, if need be. They’ll create different areas within their burrows, lining some with dried hay and grass, and using some as toilet areas. One burrow usually hosts just one family, but can be extended with each generation, creating a large, complex burrow system.

Most marmots, like the Alpine marmot, live in colonies with lots of individuals with up to twenty animals. The woodchuck however is unusual because it prefers to live alone.

Some people say that marmots can be seen “sun bathing”, but it’s believed that this is actually marmots using a flat rock for cooling purposes, or to deal with parasites.

Alpine marmots can be defensive against threats and intruders, using techniques like beating their tails to warn them away. If a marmot sees danger, it might let out a warning squeak, alerting other marmots nearby about the danger.

What do marmots eat?

Marmots are herbivores, meaning they eat plants, not other animals. This normally includes grass, fruits and grains. They can use their front feet like hands to help them with their food, too.

They’ll come out from their burrows to find food, normally in the morning and afternoon. But because they’re so sensitive to heat, they might not feed at all on warm days. When the weather is good for them, they’ll take in lots of food so that they can create a layer of fat in their body, helping them to survive hibernation.

Check out this Hibernation PowerPoint to learn more about hibernation with your children!

Life cycle of marmots

After the end of hibernation, marmots will mate in early spring. This means that their offspring can have the highest possible chance of getting enough food and fat to survive their hibernation in the winter. The gestation period - meaning how long a marmot carries their young for - is only about a month. She’ll then give birth underground to around four or five babies. The marmot will then fully mature when they reach two or three years of age.

When kept in captivity, marmots can live for fifteen years, but this can be a lot shorter when they’re in the wild.

Useful teaching tools

• Why not check out this fantastic Alpine Animals and Plants Display Banner, fantastic for bringing the topic to life in your classroom?
• This Alpine Marmot Page Border is a fantastic resource to use for brightening up your pupils' work on the animal.
• This Alpine Marmot Colouring Sheet could also be a fantastic activity for introducing the topic to your pupils, with lots of different benefits.