Hoary Marmot
Relatives in same Genus
Yellow-bellied Marmot (M. flaviventris)
Woodchuck (M. monax)
Olympic Marmot (M. olympus) ...
Hoary marmots can weigh up to 13.5 kg (30 lb.), but are usually 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 lb.). In summer the hoary marmot will gain body-fat on its diet of lush alpine plants.
Hoary marmots are also very vocal and have a system of alarm calls, whistles, and trills to warn off predators like coyotes, eagles, and foxes. In fact, another name for the hoary marmot is the whistler.
Hoary Marmots are vegetarians, feeding on a large variety of green plants -- grasses and other herbaceous species, which at this elevation, often grow for only eight weeks.
The Hoary Marmot was first reported by Eschscholtz, 1829. In general members of this order are found all over the world, except for Antarctica. The largest living rodent weighs around 50 kilograms or 110 pounds, and this is called the capybara.
Hoary marmots weigh 8 to 10 kg and are from 45 to 57 cm in length, with males being slightly larger than females (Kyle et al. 2007). Tail length is 7 to 25 cm.
Hoary marmots prefer treeless meadows with rocky outcrops and talus. They forage on forbs, grasses, and sedges. They tend to be gregarious. Groups of 5-8 feed together, with frequent bouts of greeting and grooming.
In Washington, this marmot is always at lower elevations, in more arid situations than the Hoary Marmot. It requires sufficient rocks for shelter and burrows and abundant herbaceous vegetation for food nearby.
Savage Creek is as far as you can drive into Denali National Park. Look here for Merlin and Hoary Marmot. Mew Gulls nest on a bank near the roadl. I have seen Dipper here in the past, but not this time.
The hoary marmot, M. caligata, also called whistler from its shrill warning call, is found in Siberia and from Alaska S to Idaho. A colonial animal, it lives in mountains above the timberline.
Females were positively associated with alpine and avalanche habitats with abundant hoary marmots (Marmota caligata) and Columbia ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus) [61]. In British Columbia, wolverines occupy alpine meadows [36].
 See also: Yellow-bellied, Woodchuck, Yellow-pine Chipmunk, Beaver, Porcupine
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