The marmots you may see around here are the yellow bellied variety-
and I will do a cache in their honor soon. But this one’s for the
Hoaries!
The word ‘hoary’ means something white or gray with age. Their
fur is silvery grey on the tips. Hoary marmot’s heads are black and
white and their shoulders, feet and tail are nearly black. The
Hoary marmots live wherever there are mountains with rocky talus
slopes and lush alpine vegetation. They are commonly found in the
Northern Rockies to the Pacific coast of British Columbia and
Alaska. In Southeast Alaska some hoary marmots have been found
building colonies near the rocky shoreline.
The burrows of hoary marmots are relatively permanent for each
colony. Some are used for over 20 years, passed down through
generations. Although each family has a separate burrow, these
burrows are near each other, forming a colony.
Hoary Marmots consider themselves quite good singers and they
sound different than any other marmot.
Here is a pic of my great uncle Maury the Hoary- he tells me all
the time that he is a great singer!
