GROUND SQUIRRELS 217 



MARMOT (Arctomys marmottd). 

 Coloured Plate XIV. Fig. 7. 



The Marmot in appearance differs from the chipmunk 

 only in its heavier build, its shorter tail, and its stronger 

 claws for more extensive burrowing. In disposition and 

 ordinary movement it is sluggish, and under no circum- 

 stances is it a tree-climber in the Old World. The various 

 species are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. The 

 best known is the Alpine Marmot, which is about the size of 

 a rabbit. It inhabits the higher regions of the Alps, 

 Pyrenees, and Carpathians, at elevations of seven or eight 

 thousand feet, and is the only European warm-blooded 

 quadruped found permanently at so great a height. 



The burrows of a Marmot colony, which in Europe are 

 found in open spaces very near the line of perpetual snow, 

 are rather complicated. They consist of a number of 

 chambers approached by narrow tunnels six or more feet 

 in length, from which the animals issue to feed on the 

 mountain herbage, roots, leaves, and seeds of various plants. 

 While they are feeding, one or more of the number keep 

 watch to prevent surprise by enemies. The slightest 

 unusual circumstance will cause the sentinels to give the 

 alarm, and the animals at once dart for the entrances to the 

 burrows, where they sit up to look back and ascertain the 

 nature of the threatened danger. If it is not a false alarm 

 they dive headlong into their retreats. Very often they 

 quickly reappear, but two alarms, even though they are in 

 quick succession, will cause them to remain underground 

 for the rest of the day. 



The squirrel wakes up from its winter sleep at intervals 

 to pay visits to its various storehouses ; but the Marmots, in 

 their grass-lined burrows, stop up the outlets. The earlier 

 portion of their retirement is spent in eating their stores, and 

 then, huddled up in parties of a dozen or fifteen, they sleep 

 for as long as six or seven months. Just before the retiring 

 season the Marmot is very fat and its fur is in excellent 

 condition ; and this is the time which is chosen for Marmot- 

 hunting. 



