MAMMALS OF UTAH 57 



ENGELHARDT MARMOT: HOARY 

 MARMOT 



MARMOTA FLAVIVENTRIS ENGLEHARDTI (Allen) 



Marmota engelhardti Allen, Mus. Brooklyn Inst. Arts & Sci., 

 Sci. BuL, I, 1905, p. 120. 



Description — General tone of upper parts Vandyke 

 brown, grizzled with buf fy white ; underfur fuscous at base 

 succeeded by pinkish buff or pinkish cinnamon, the latter 

 shading on sides to Rood's brown ; long hairs blackish brown, 

 tipped with light buff or buf fy white ; top of head and face 

 blackish brown, with an irregular white patch in front of 

 eyes ; sides of head mixed brown and buf fy white ; sides of 

 neck with a small area of ochraceous-buf f ; legs and feet 

 hazel, tail abov^ dark clove brown, tipped with hazel; be- 

 neath, blackish brown; underparts hazel or ochraceous- 

 tawny, the bases of hairs blackish brown ; sides of nose, lips, 

 and chin, white. 



Distribution — Beaver and Parowan mountains; south- 

 ern Utah; also Midvale, Idaho. Exact limits of range un- 

 known. The type locality of this species is Briggs meadow, 

 Beaver range, Utah. (Altitude 10,000 feet.) Several speci- 

 mens have been taken from Beaver mountains and Parowan 

 mountains. '' 



Brigham Spencer informs me that woodchucks are quite 

 numerous in Wayne, Garfield, Emery, Grand and San Juan 

 counties. B. E. Mattsson says woodchucks are numerous in 

 the Manti forest, while J. W. Humphrey of Panguitch in- 

 forms me that they may be found by the hundreds on all 

 portions of the Sevier forest. George E. Barney of Esca- 

 lante reports that tl^ey are numerous in the lava beds of the 

 Escalante forest district. C. A. Mattsson of Salina writes 

 as follows : "The immense lava deposits which extend south 

 of the Salina creek watershed to the extreme southern boun- 

 dary of the Fishlake forest provide a suitable habitat for 

 woodchucks. These animals are numerous in these lava beds 

 and are often seen by persons riding the range. The homes 

 of the woodchuck in this locality'is on areas having -an ele- 

 vation of over 7,500 ffeet, and they are most numerous in 

 the lava beds having an elevation of about 8,000 feet." S. B. 

 Locke says they are well distributed in the high LaSal 

 mountains. 



Habits — Though a forest animal, the woodchuck never- 

 theless prefers the edges of sunny openings to the dismal 

 depths of the woodland ; and in Utah he burrows almost ex- 



