Yellow-bellied marmot

Description:

Yellow-bellied marmots are found in Western North America, US Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. They have a social system where a male defends and mates with one or more females. Female daughters may not disperse and may settle around their mothers. Sons invariably disperse as yearlings and try to find and defend one or more females. They have a body length between 34 and 50 cms (13.4 - 19.7 inches), a tail length between 12 and 22 cms (4.7 - 8.7 inches) and they weigh between 1.5 and 5 kgs (3.3 - 11 lbs).

Habitat:

We were in the Big Horn National Forest in Wyoming at the Powder River Pass with an elevation of 9,666. There were several yellow-bellied marmots running in and out of the rock crevices.