This little guy was doing his best to hide from me but just couldn’t resist popping up to see who was intruding on his domain. I was ready and snapped a couple of images before it retreated back to its burrow.
Taken back in August, the scene at 12,000 feet where this image was taken is undoubtedly much different now and these guys are prepared to weather the harsh, high altitude winter.
Sometimes called a ‘rock chuck’, Marmots are actually members of the squirrel family. They are found above 6,500 feet in grassland, meadows and talus fields. Here in Colorado you are most likely to spot them above timberline sunning themselves on rocks.
If you like to sleep, you might wish you were a marmot. Yellow bellied marmots spend 80% of their lives in their burrows, 60% of which is spent sleeping. Taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
