Have you seen an animal that has a yellow belly and yellowish fur and a stripe between each eye. If so, it could be a yellow-bellied marmot. They make whistle noises and chucking sounds. Whistle pig is this animal's nickname. The whistle means a predator is coming. They eat all kinds of plants and they get fat by the fall. The fat lets them hibernate through the winter. Females tend to breed at the age of two. The average size of their litters is a bit over four pups. They live in dug up holes or in rocky peaks. You could find them sunning on rocks or in a meadow. Their head and shoulders are black and white. Their feet are black and the body is yellowish gray. Adults are larger than a house cat. It is a member of the squirrel family.

I found my imfomation from COMMON CAMPGROUND CRITTERS by Jean Pollock and Robert Pollock.

If you see a big brown lump lying on a rock, it may be a marmot. Does it whistle? Is it gnawing on a plant? If so, it is probably a marmot. Did you know that at the end of August the marmot goes into hibernation? The marmot has white stripes on its muzzle. The marmot eats lots and lots of plants. Did you know that the marmot spends most of its time sunbathing or foraging for food? The marmot's enemies are grizzly bears, gray wolves, and fishers. Did you know that the marmot is as big as a large cat? I hope you learned a little about the marmot in this piece.

I got my information from COMMON CAMPGROUND CRITTERS by Jean Pollock and Robert Pollock.

If you see a brown to yellowish creature with a white patch between the eyes, it may be a marmot. Does it have short legs? Can you see about a 5-7 inch long tail? If so, you found a marmot, a Yellow Bellied Marmot! Yellow Bellied Marmots are found in rocky places like valleys, foothills, and pastures with large boulders at 5,000 feet and higher. They mostly eat grasses, but some eat other plant materials. They live in families of up to two dozen individuals. A marmot's nickname is "Whistle Pig". Three to six babies are born in late April or May. They are fully grown by the end of August and go into hibernation before becoming adults. Foxes, coyotes, badgers, and golden eagles will eat any marmots they find outside of their den. When they are not sun bathing, they may go far from home just to munch on grasses or alfalfa. In the summer they lie on rocks to enjoy the sun!

I got my information from MAMMALS OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES by Jan L. Wassink.

One sunny Saturday a Yellow Bellied Marmot was on a rock pile above timberline sunning itself and being a guard, looking for its enemies. All of a sudden a big fox walks in its way. So it chirps as loud as it can and all of the marmots hide in their dens! What do you think marmots eat? Grasses, plant materials and alfalfa. If you see a small animal that is brown, yellow blue with a white patch between the eyes, short legs 14 to 20 inches long and a tail 5 to 7 inches long, it is probably a Yellow Bellied Marmot. Do you think that this marmot can live with more than one marmot? Well, guess what? They can live with up to 24 other marmots.

The books I got this information from are COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke and MAMMALS OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES by Jan L. Wassink.