Alpine marmot

Description:

An adult alpine marmot may stand at 18 cm (7.1 in) at the shoulder. They reach between 42 and 54 cm (17 and 21 in) in length, not including the tail, which measures between 13 to 16 cm (5.1 to 6.3 in) on average. The body mass is significantly lighter in spring, when these animals weigh 2.8 to 3.3 kg (6.2 to 7.3 lb), than in fall, when they weigh 5.5 to 8 kg (12 to 18 lb). The alpine marmot is sometimes considered the largest squirrel species, although the closely related hoary marmot is sometimes heavier. Its coat is a mixture of blonde, reddish and dark gray fur. While most of the alpine marmot's fingers have claws, its thumbs have nails.

Notes:

On our way to the glacier Blange in the south of France, we saw some of the Alpine marmots in the distance. Every time I tried to get close enough to take a nice picture of them, they disappeared behind a rock. At last I was happy with a few nice shots of the fur balls. When we descended from the mountain it was late in the afternoon and we started to hear the whistling sound of the marmot all over the place. And soon after I could take hundreds of pictures of them from up close.