{{Short description|Species of rodent}} {{Speciesbox | name = Hoary marmot | image = Marmota caligata (EH).jpg | genus = Marmota | parent = Marmota (Petromarmota) | species = caligata | authority = ([[Johann F. Eschscholtz|Eschscholtz]], 1829) | range_map_caption = Hoary Marmot range<ref name="iucn"/> | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Cassola, F. |date=2018 |title=''Marmota caligata'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T42456A122560084 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T42456A122560084.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> }}
The '''hoary marmot''' ('''''Marmota caligata''''') is a [[species]] of [[marmot]] that inhabits the mountains of northwest [[North America]]. Hoary marmots live near the [[tree line]] on slopes with [[Graminoid|grasses]] and [[forb]]s to eat and rocky areas for cover.
It is the largest North American [[ground squirrel]] and is often nicknamed "the whistler" for its high-pitched warning issued to alert other members of the colony to possible danger. The animals are sometimes called "whistle pigs". [[Whistler, British Columbia]], originally ''London Mountain'' because of its heavy fogs and rain, was renamed after these animals to help make it more marketable as a resort.<ref>[http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3379 BritishColumbia.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404000516/http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3379 |date=2007-04-04 }} – Whistler, British Columbia</ref> The closest relatives of the species are the [[Yellow-bellied marmot|yellow-bellied]], [[Olympic marmot|Olympic]], and [[Vancouver Island marmot|Vancouver Island]] marmots, although the exact relationships are unclear.<ref name=Kruckenhause1999>{{cite journal | author = Kruckenhauser, L.| year = 1999 | title = Marmot phylogeny revisited: molecular evidence for a diphyletic origin of sociality | journal = Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 49–56| doi = 10.1046/j.1439-0469.1999.95100.x|display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref name=Steppan1999>{{cite journal | author = Steppan, S.J.| year = 1999 | title = Molecular phylogeny of the marmots (Rodentia: Sciuridae): tests of evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses | journal = Systematic Biology | volume = 48 | issue = 4 | pages = 715–34| doi = 10.1080/106351599259988 | pmid=12066297|display-authors=etal| doi-access = free | citeseerx = 10.1.1.333.3029 }}</ref>
==Description== [[File:Marmota caligata BC.jpg|thumb|left|Hoary marmot near Helen Lake, Banff National Park, Canada]] The hoary marmot is a large, bulky, ground squirrel, with short, heavy limbs, and a broad head. Adults range from {{cvt|62|to|82|cm}} in total length, including a {{cvt|17|to|25|cm}} tail. The species is [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]], with males being significantly larger than females in most subspecies. Because of their long winter [[hibernation]], during which they survive on fat reserves, the weight of the animals varies considerably over the course of the year, from an average of {{cvt|3.75|kg|lb}} in May to around {{cvt|7|kg|lb}} in September, for a fully grown adult.<ref name=Braun2011>{{cite journal | author = Braun, J.K.| year = 2011 | title = ''Marmota caligata'' (Rodentia: Sciuridae) | journal = Mammalian Species | volume = 43 | issue = 1 | pages = 155–171 | doi = 10.1644/884.1|display-authors=etal| doi-access = free }}</ref> A few fall adult males can commonly range up to a weight of {{cvt|10|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nature.ca/notebooks/english/homarm.htm |title=Hoary Marmot: Natural History Notebooks |website=Nature.ca |access-date= 2013-10-10}}</ref> The record sized autumn male specimen attained a mass of nearly {{cvt|13.5|kg|lb}}, possibly the largest size known for any marmot.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beer |title=Encyclopedia of North American Mammals: An Essential Guide to Mammals of North America|publisher= Thunder Bay Press |year=2004|isbn=978-1-59223-191-1}}</ref> Going on its average size relative to other marmot species, it is slightly smaller on average than the [[Olympic marmot]], similar in size to the [[Vancouver Island marmot]] and broadly overlaps in size with several lesser-known Asian marmot species as well.<ref name=Braun2011/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edelman |first=Andrew J. |date=December 2003 |title=''Marmota olympus'' |url=https://academic.oup.com/mspecies/article-lookup/doi/10.1644/736 |journal=Mammalian Species |language=en |volume=736 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1644/736 |issn=0076-3519}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Murdoch, J. D. |author2=Munkhzul, T.|author3= Buyandelger, S.|author4= Reading, R. P.|author5= Sillero-Zubiri, C. |year=2009 |title=The Endangered Siberian marmot ''Marmota sibirica'' as a keystone species? Observations and implications of burrow use by corsac foxes ''Vulpes corsac'' in Mongolia|journal= Oryx|volume= 43|issue=3|pages= 431–434 |doi=10.1017/S0030605309001100 |bibcode=2009Oryx...43..431M }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Chaudhary, V.|author2= Tripathi, R. S.|author3= Singh, S.|author4= Raghuvanshi, M. S. |year=2017|title=Distribution and population of Himalayan Marmot ''Marmota himalayana'' (Hodgson, 1841) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) in Leh-Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India|journal= Journal of Threatened Taxa|volume= 9|issue=11|pages= 10886–10891|doi= 10.11609/jott.3336.9.11.10886-10891|doi-access= free}}</ref>
The word "hoary" refers to the silver-gray fur on their shoulders and upper back; the remainder of the upper parts have drab- or reddish-brown fur. The head is black on the upper surface, with a white patch on the muzzle, white fur on the chin and around the lips, and grizzled black or brown fur elsewhere. The feet and lower legs are black, sometimes with white patches on the fore feet. Marmots have long [[guard hair]]s that provide most of the visible colour of their [[fur|pelage]], and a dense, soft underfur that provides insulation. The greyish underparts of the body lack this underfur, and are more sparsely haired than the rest of the body.<ref name=Hoffmann1979>{{cite journal | author = Hoffmann, R.S.| year = 1979 | title = The relationships of the Amphiberingian marmots (Mammalia: Sciuridae) | journal = Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas | volume = 83 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4138352 | pages = 1–56|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Hoary marmots [[moulting|moult]] in the early to mid summer.<ref name=Braun2011/>
The feet have slightly curved claws, which are somewhat larger on the fore feet than on the hind feet. The feet have hairless pads, enhancing their grip. The tail is long, slightly flattened, and covered with dense fur. Apart from the larger size of the males, both sexes have a similar appearance. Females have five pairs of [[teat]]s, running from the pectoral to the inguinal regions.<ref name=Braun2011/>
==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Marmota caligata range.jpg|thumb|Range of the hoary marmot (''Marmota caligata'')<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kerhoulas|first1=Nicholas J.|last2=Gunderson|first2=Aren M.|last3=Olson|first3=Link E.|date=2015-08-03|title=Complex history of isolation and gene flow in hoary, Olympic, and endangered Vancouver Island marmots|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|language=en|volume=96|issue=4|pages=810–826|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyv089|issn=0022-2372|doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
The hoary marmot predominantly inhabits mountainous alpine environments to {{convert|2500|m}} elevation, although coastal population also occur at or near sea level in British Columbia and Alaska.<ref name="Braun2011" /> Hoary marmots occur from southern Washington and central Idaho north, and are found through much of [[Alaska]] south of the [[Yukon River]].<ref name="Gunderson2009">{{Cite journal|last1=Gunderson|first1=M.|last2=K.|first2=Jacobsen, Brandy|last3=E.|first3=Olson, Link|date=2009-08-14|title=Revised Distribution of the Alaska Marmot, Marmota broweri, and Confirmation of Parapatry with Hoary Marmots|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|language=en|volume=90|issue=4|pages=859–869|doi=10.1644/08-MAMM-A-253.1|s2cid=51772006|issn=0022-2372|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Braun2011" /> They live above the [[tree line]], at elevations from sea level to {{convert|2500|m}}, depending on latitude, in rocky terrain or alpine meadows dominated by grasses, sedges, herbs, and [[Krummholz]] forest patches.<ref name=Braun2011/> Range maps often erroneously depict hoary marmots occurring north of the Yukon River in Alaska, this region is occupied by the [[Alaska marmot]] (''M. broweri'') and not the hoary marmot.<ref name="Gunderson2009" /> Hoary marmots also occur on several islands in Alaska and fossils dating back to the [[Pleistocene]], including some from islands no longer inhabited by the species.<ref name=Heaton1996>{{cite journal | author = Heaton, T.H.| year = 1996 | title = An ice age refugium for large mammals in the Alexander Archipelago, southeastern Alaska | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 46 | issue = 2 | pages = 186–192 | doi = 10.1006/qres.1996.0058| bibcode = 1996QuRes..46..186H | s2cid = 128501402 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>
The three currently recognized subspecies are:
* ''M. c. caligata'' – Alaska, [[Yukon]], NW Territories, northern [[British Columbia]] * ''M. c. cascandensis'' – [[Cascade Mountains]], from British Columbia to [[Washington (state)|Washington]] * ''M. c. okanagana'' – [[Rocky Mountains]], from Yukon to [[Montana]] and [[Idaho]]
==Behaviour and diet== Hoary marmots are [[diurnality|diurnal]] and [[herbivore|herbivorous]], subsisting on leaves, flowers, grasses, and sedges. Predators include [[golden eagle]]s, [[grizzly bear|grizzly]] and [[American black bear|black bears]], [[wolverine]]s, [[coyote]]s, [[red fox]]es, [[Canada lynx|lynxes]], [[gray wolf|wolves]], and [[cougar]]s. They live in colonies of up to 36 individuals, with a [[home range]] averaging about {{convert|14|ha}}. Each colony includes a single, dominant, adult male, up to three adult females, sometimes with a subordinate adult male, and a number of young and subadults up to two years of age.<ref name=Braun2011/>
[[Image:Hoary Marmot.jpeg|thumb|Basking behaviour, near [[Juneau, Alaska]]]] [[File: Hoary marmots wrestling.JPG|thumb|Wrestling behaviour, [[Jasper National Park]], Canada]] The marmots [[Hibernation|hibernate]] seven to eight months a year in [[burrow]]s they excavate in the soil, often among or under boulders. Each colony typically maintains a single [[hibernaculum (zoology)|hibernaculum]] and a number of smaller burrows, used for sleeping and refuge from predators. The refuge burrows are the simplest and most numerous type, consisting of a single bolt hole {{convert|1|to|2|m}} deep. Each colony digs an average of five such burrows a year, and a mature colony may have over a hundred. Sleeping burrows and hibernacula are larger and more complex, with multiple entrances, deep chambers lined with plant material, and stretching to a depth of about {{convert|3.5|m}}. A colony may have up to 9 regular sleeping burrows, in addition to the larger hibernaculum.<ref name=Holmes1984>{{cite journal | author = Holmes, W.G. | year = 1984 | title = Predation risk and foraging behavior of the hoary marmot in Alaska | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume = 15 | issue = 4 | pages = 293–301 | doi = 10.1007/BF00292992| bibcode = 1984BEcoS..15..293H |url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/46873/265_2004_Article_BF00292992.pdf| hdl = 2027.42/46873 | s2cid = 19252876 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> Many forms of social behaviour have been observed among hoary marmots, including play fighting, wrestling, social grooming, and nose-to-nose touching. Such activity becomes particularly frequent as hibernation approaches. Interactions with individuals from other colonies are less common, and usually hostile, with females chasing away intruders. Hoary marmots are also vocal animals, with at least seven distinct types of calls, including chirps, whistles, growls, and whining sounds.<ref name=Taulman1977>{{cite journal | author = Taulman, J.F. | year = 1977 | title = Vocalizations of the hoary marmot, ''Marmota caligata'' | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 58 | issue = 4 | pages = 681–683 | jstor=1380026| doi = 10.2307/1380026}}</ref> Many of these calls are used as alarms, alerting other animals to potential predators. They also communicate using scent, both by defecation, and by marking rocks or plants using [[scent gland]]s on their cheeks.<ref name=Braun2011/> [[File:Hoary Marmot in Glacier National Park.jpg|thumb|left|Hoary marmot in [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]]]] Hoary marmots frequently sun themselves on rocks, spending as much as 44% of their time in the morning doing so, although they will shelter in their burrows or otherwise seek shade in especially warm weather. They forage for the rest of the day, returning to their burrows to sleep during the night.<ref name=Braun2011/>
In areas frequented by people, hoary marmots are not shy. Rather than running away at first sight, they will often go about their business{{clarify|date=October 2011}} while being watched.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}
Mating occurs after hibernation, and two to four young are born in the spring. Males establish "harems", but may also visit females in other territories.
==Reproduction== Hoary marmots breed shortly after,<ref name=Barash1981>{{cite journal | author = Barash, D.P. | year = 1981 | title = Mate guarding and gallivanting by male hoary marmots (''Marmota caligata'') | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume = 9 | issue = 3 | pages = 187–193 | doi = 10.1007/BF00302936| bibcode = 1981BEcoS...9..187B | s2cid = 36862635 }}</ref> or even before,<ref name=Kyle2007>{{cite journal |vauthors=Kyle CJ, Karels TJ, Davis CS, Mebs S, Clark B, Strobeck C, Hik DS | year = 2007 | title = Social structure and facultative mating systems of hoary marmots (''Marmota caligata'') | journal = Molecular Ecology | volume = 16 | issue = 5 | pages = 1245–1255 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03211.x|pmid=17391410| bibcode = 2007MolEc..16.1245K | s2cid = 778354}}</ref> their emergence from hibernation burrows in May and in some areas (such as the eastern Cascade foothills of Washington State){{citation needed|date=February 2016}} as early as February. Courtship consists of sniffing the genital region, followed by mounting, although mounting has also been observed between females. Females typically raise litters only in alternate years, although both greater and lesser frequencies have been reported on occasion.<ref name=Braun2011/><ref name=Kyle2007/>
Gestation lasts 25 to 30 days, so the litter of two to five young is born between late May and mid-June.<ref name=Barash1981/> The young emerge from their birth den at three to four weeks of age, by which time they have a full coat of fur and are already beginning to be [[weaning|weaned]].<ref name=Barash1980>{{cite journal | author = Barash, D.P. | year = 1980 | title = The influence of reproductive status on foraging by hoary marmots (''Marmota caligata'') | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume = 7 | issue = 3 | pages = 201–205 |jstor=4599328| doi = 10.1007/BF00299365 | bibcode = 1980BEcoS...7..201B | s2cid = 29650060 }}</ref> The young are initially cautious, but begin to exhibit the full range of nonreproductive adult behavior within about four weeks of emerging from the burrow. Subadults initially remain with their birth colony, but typically leave at two years of age, becoming fully sexually mature the following year.<ref name=Braun2011/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Commons}} * {{cite web |title=Hiker In The Middle Of Nowhere Hears A High-Pitched "Beep" Suddenly |author=Maria J. Grill |website=Veloxify |format=Video with text and sound |date=20 Aug 2022 |url=https://animals.veloxify.com/animals/2022/hiker-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-hears-a-high-pitched-beep-suddenly/24737/}} * {{ITIS |id=180139 |taxon=Marmota caligata |access-date=18 March 2006}} * {{MSW3 Sciuridae}} * {{cite web|author=Carling, M. |title=''Marmota caligata'' (hoary marmot)|website= Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan|year= 1999 |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Marmota_caligata.html}}
{{S. Xerinae1 nav}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q326998}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Mammals described in 1829]] [[Category:Arctic land animals]] [[Category:Rodents of Canada]] [[Category:Rodents of the United States]] [[Category:Marmots]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of North America]] [[Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz]]