THE HOARY MARMOT. ARCTOMYS CALIGATUS. 



ALLAN BROOKS. 



This rodent is known among naturalists 

 by the above name, but hunters, miners and 

 other mountaineers call it by a dozen differ- 

 ent names, of which "whistler," "sifffeur" 

 and "squay-uck" are the most appropriate. 

 The last is the name it is generally known 

 by among the Indians of the Northwest 

 coast and is derived from one of its call 

 notes. 



Recreation seems to have a great num- 

 ber of woodchuck fiends among its East- 

 ern readers, and hunting woodchucks with 

 a good target rifle is good sport anywhere; 

 but the highest form of this pursuit is hunt- 

 ing this magnificent woodchuck in his na- 

 tive fastnesses. 



In the beautiful park country in the 

 region about timber line on the Cascades, 

 Selkirks, Rockies, and Olympics, the 

 squay-uck is the most conspicuous deni- 

 zen, and his long drawn, shrill whistle is 

 the most characteristic sound heard in the 

 hills. 



This animal is warier than the Eastern 

 woodchuck, and much more so than its 

 smaller congener, the rockchuck, or yel- 

 low-footed marmot. Hunting them is 

 therefore more fascinating, apart from the 

 grandeur of the country they inhabit. 



Their alarm note, heard the instant one 



shows one's self on a ridge, or when a 

 golden eagle sweeps over, is a long drawn 

 whistle, whee-e-e-e, and instantly every ani- 

 mal within 200 yards is scampering for his 

 hole. When safe in the mouth of the den, 

 or beneath some great rock, the note 

 changes and becomes shorter, sharper, and 

 of a staccato intensity, especially if the 

 cause for their alarm is an eagle. 



Their call note, when not alarmed, is a 

 plaintive cry, "quay-uk," or as the Siwash 

 puts it, squay-uk or sque-uk. A full- 

 grown adult will weigh as much as 25 

 pounds, and even more, and must be a 

 tough proposition for an eagle to tackle. 

 Siwashes claim the eagle flies up to a con- 

 siderable height with the animal and drops 

 it on the rocks again and again until it is 

 quite dead. 



When sunning themselves these marmots 

 sometimes spread themselves on a rock at 

 full length, and are then hard to detect, if 

 the rock is gray granite. They have great 

 vitality, but if shot through or anywhere 

 forward of the shoulders, are easily killed, 

 even with a small calibre rifle. When shot 

 through the middle they get into their 

 holes, even if the bullet be a .50 express. 

 They hibernate from October 1st to May 

 1st. 





THE HOARY MARMOT. ARCTOMYS CALIGATUS. 



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