Know anything about marmots?
Richard and I have a new backyard inhabitant - a sole marmot.
We call him Charles or Charlie because Charles Marmot sounds sophisticated, for a marmot.
Wiki says that "marmots are basically large squirrels, that they are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another and that they mainly eat greens." Which seems to be true because our marmot has being dining on dandelions.
Wiki also says that "marmots are credited with transmitting numerous coughing ailments to humans and that they may have been the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague during several historic outbreaks. Making them second only to the malarial mosquito as a killer of humans."
So, I'm wondering...
friend or foe?
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8 comments:
oh my goodness, I've no idea... I do know that the marmot is second only to the wombat in being so funny-looking & fuzzy it kills me with its cuteness. I'd have a hard time shooing that guy away, bubonic plague be damned.
They breed like rabbits and crap everywhere. Don't feel bad about taking care of business(Richard).
Awww...he/she/it is just so cute....and an eater of dandelions.That's very useful!
Suppose you might want to keep your distance if they're full of germs :-(
Ewww, after reading their history...I'd be wary, but I wouldn't be able to knock him off.
I think that I'll have to figure something out - perhaps a relocation plan. He's a cute little bugger but the last thing we need is marmot babies and/or the plague..ha...
Will keep you all posted on how the saga develops.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter.
a marmot is a small squirrel with furry litlle tails the mostly live in mountain tops and if he is ur bak yard but you mite want to watch that birds dont snach em
Foe!
All rodents are foes, as far as I'm concerned. They can't be trusted.
Looks like a yellowbelly marmot, which, according to Peterson... is "Chiefly diurnal. Feeds on grasses and forbs, relishes alfalfa. Den near large boulder, which is often used as lookout post. Goes into estivation in late June, hibernation in August, emerges in February or March." Peterson notes its "definite asthetic value", although this species "hosts the tick that carries Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever."
All-in-all, unless you've got an infestation of marmots eating up all your crops, or they're sharing your bed at night, it's probably not going to do much more than eat some of your plants/roots/bulbs. And since it's a mountain species and kind of cool and part of the ecosystem, why kill it? :)
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