EUROPEAN MARMOTS 
fore foot rudimentary, and rather harsh fur of a uniform grayish, 
reddish, or yellowish tint, deepening to blackish along the spine. 
In Europe there are two species, the big (twenty inches) Alpine 
marmot, and the lesser 
bobac of Russia and Si- 
beria; several more kinds 
inhabit central Asia north 
of India. 
“The districts inhabited by 
all the marmots of the Old 
World,” says Lydekker, ‘are 
desolate and barren; being in 
most cases scorched with fierce 
heat in summer, while in win- 
ter they are subject to intense 
cold... The occurrence of 
fossil remains of the alpine 
marmot in many parts of Eu- 
rope leads to the conclu- 
sion that western Europe had 
at one time a more or less 
steppe-like climate. As milder 
and more genial climatic con- |# satis” 
ditions supervened, the alpine A MARMOT. 
marmot gradually retreated to 
the nearest mountain ranges; and we thus have a complete explanation of its 
present isolated distributional areas. The habits of all the marmots of the 
Old World appear to be very similar; all the species of these animals liv- 
ing in large companies, and excavating burrows in which they pass the whole 
of the winter buried in profound slumber... All the species are diurnal 
in their habits; and their food is purely of a vegetable nature, consisting 
mainly of roots, seeds, and leaves of various plants. In the Himalaya the 
burrows are very generally constructed beneath the shelter of a plant of 
the wild rhubarb; and the tenants on a fine day take up their station on 
the mound at the entrance, or journey for a short distance in search of food. 
At the least alarm they rush at once to the entrance of their burrow, while 
they sit up on their hindquarters to survey the scene and detect the danger. 
If the enemy approach too close, the loud whistling scream is uttered, and 
457 
