Yellow-Bellied Marmot

Marmota Flaviventris, also known as the Rock Chuck, is also called the Yellow-Bellied Marmot. Found in the western U.S. and southwestern Canada, it likes elevations above 6,000 feet, inhabiting meadows, steppes, talus fields, and other open habitats with few trees, feeding on grass, leaves, flowers, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs. Weighing between 5 and 11 pounds during the spring, summer, and fall, they gain more weight before hibernating in the winter. The Marmot typically remains in a relatively small area, perhaps 4 to 7 acres, digging burrows under rocks to escape predators. They sometimes live to an age of 15 years and reside in colonies of 10 to 20. Interestingly, they include 'toilet rooms' as well as living rooms, bedrooms, and eating rooms in their burrows.

Images taken in Nine-Mile Canyon, June 16th, 2009. Nikon D-100 and 500mm F:8 mirror lens. ISO 1600, 1500th second exposure.