Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota) is a species of marmot found in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe. Alpine Marmots
Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota) is a species of marmot found in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe. Alpine Marmots live at heights between 800 and 3,200 metres, in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras, the Pyrenees and Mount Baldo by the Riva del Garda, Italy. They were reintroduced with success in the Pyrenees in 1948, where the Alpine Marmot had disappeared at end of the Pleistocene epoch. They are excellent diggers, able to penetrate soil that even a pickaxe would have difficulty with, and spend up to nine months per year in hibernation. An adult Alpine Marmot may weigh between 4 and 8 kg and reach between 42–54 cm in length (not including the tail, which measures between 13–16 cm on average). This makes the Alpine Marmot the largest squirrel species. As the summer begins to end, Alpine Marmots will gather old stems in their burrows in order to serve as bedding for their impending hibernation, which can start as early as October. They seal the burrow with a combination of earth and their own faeces. Once winter arrives, the Alpine Marmots will huddle next to each other, and begin hibernation, a process which lowers their heart rate down to five beats per minute, and breathing down to 1–3 breaths per minute, which uses up their stored fat supplies as slowly as possible. Their body temperatures will drop to almost the same as the air around them, although their heart rate and breathing will speed up if they approach freezing point. Some Alpine Marmots will starve to death despite this, due to their layer of fat running out. This is most likely to happen in the younger Alpine Marmots than the older ones. Although not currently in any danger of extinction, Alpine Marmots used to be widely hunted due to the belief that their fat would ease rheumatism when rubbed on the skin. However, hunting of the Alpine Marmot still occurs for sport purposes. This is a danger to the animal, as they are relatively slow at breeding
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