“…and today we are talking about some sleepy mountain rodents, but more on that later.”
If your circumstances are difficult, sometimes it helps to sleep on it. When you wake up, you’ll feel renewed and ready to tackle life’s challenges. That’s exactly what the yellow bellied marmot does, and his biggest problem is winter. But high-altitude frost is nothing an eight-month nap can’t fix in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Description of the Yellow Bellied Marmot
- Large fat squirrel with brown and tan fur
- Like a mid-stage pokemon evolution between a squirrel and a beaver
- Shorter, less fluffy tail than a normal squirrel
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com. We don’t have a new Measure Up intro!
Length
- 47–68 cm (181⁄2–27 in)
- How many Ultrawhistle diameters go into the length of a Marmot?
- Hint: The Ultrawhistle was a steam whistle like the kind used on trains and steam ship. It was said to be as loud as 124 decibels at 100 feet.
- 1.3 whistles. The Ultrawhistle was a 20-inch diameter ring-shaped whistle
Weight
- 1.6–5.2 kg (3 lb 8 oz – 11 lb 7 oz)
- How many Marmots could the Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ 4014 pull?
- Hint: The “Big Boy” was a type of steam locomotive manufactured by the Union Pacific between 1941 and 1944. They were used all the way up until 1962.
- 11,836 Marmots. Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ 4014 is the most powerful steam locomotive with a tractive effort of 135,375 pounds.
Fast Facts about the Yellow Bellied Marmot
- Range: Lives in the Western US and southwestern Canada
- Diet: Omnivorous. Grass, grains, leaves, flowers, eggs, insects
- Behavior:
- 15 year lifespan
- Sexually mature at 2 years – has its marmitzvah
- Spend 80% of their time in their burrows
- Live in colonies of about 20
- Predated by foxes, dogs, coyotes, wolves, and eagles
- Whistles to its kin to warn them when they spot danger
Major Fact: Brilliant Burrows
Marmots live in places that are cold and even frozen for long periods, so they spend most of their life sleeping through it.
Marmots spend 80% of their lives asleep and 60% is in hibernation. To sleep that much, you have to have an excellent bedroom.
Marmots live in daily burrows that can be three feet deep and up to 50 feet long. During the winter, their hibernation burrows can be as deep as 23 feet (7 m). In the spring and summer, they are most active during the day, but they take siestas at noon to avoid the heat of the day.
If you’d like to visit one today, you’ll have to come back later. They start to hibernate around September and sleep all the way to May.
Two-year-old males that emerge from their burrows in the spring immediately start digging their own burrows to prepare for mating season. A great burrow can earn the male marmot many maidens. They mate with two or three females each year. When pups reach a year old, the male will vacate the family burrow but stick close to the area to defend one or two of the females and their pups.
Ending: So whistle if you hear danger, sleep as much as you can, and dig a tunnel dig dig a tunnel like the marmot here in LDT.