Yellow Bellied Marmot with a Mouth Full of Grass

Typical habitat for a harem of yellow-bellied marmots is a rocky outcropping or talus slope in a meadow. They burrow up to 15 feet horizontally into a hillside to make the nest chamber under a large rock. They hibernate for about eight months a year. This adult made a couple of trips into its burrow with large mouthfuls of grass. Since they do not store food, I assume the grass was used as nesting material. Young marmots lose about 50% of their body weight during the winter, so they must accumulate sufficient fat reserves before going into hibernation in early September.