The Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota) is a large ground-dwelling squirrel found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe. It lives at heights between 800 and 3,200 m in the Alps, and other mountains.
We found this group of Marmots sheltering / living under a wooden platform on the open ski slopes above Cortina d'Ampezzo (often shortened to just Cortina) in the Italian Dolomites. We found them on a day that was otherwise disrupted by heavy rain. To be honest, they were the highlight of that day!
The Alpine Marmot is closely related to the American Groundhog (Marmota monax), and although the Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day celebrations are rooted in Germanic traditions I do not know if similar weather predicting abilities are ascribed their European cousins!
An adult Alpine Marmot is between 43 and 73 cm long with a tail of about 13 to 20 cm adding to its size. Their weight varies between 1.9 to 8 kg, with the animals being significantly lighter in the spring (after burning fat all winter during hibernation) than in the autumn when they have their full supplies on board!
Alpine marmots eat plants such as grasses and herbs, as well as grain, insects, spiders and worms. And I suspect that they also eat 'tourist food' as this little group of animals had taken lodgings near a cafe! (The cafe was closed at the time - but Im sure their location was not a coincidence)
Hope all is well with everyone, and that you are ready for a number of posts about Europe!
Cheers - Stewart M
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteAs rodents go, they are darned cute! Fabulous shots, Stewart, and yes, bring it on! YAM xx
I would have loved to see them, but I take great consolation in having our Groundhogs, which are now getting ready for hibernation. Sometimes when I read the news I feel I should join them.
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