Himalayan marmot | |
---|---|
Individual at Tshophu Lake, Bhutan (above), group with worn pelage in Ladakh, India (below) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Genus: | Marmota |
Species: | M. himalayana |
Binomial name | |
Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) | |
The Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) is a marmot species that inhabits alpine grasslands throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau. It is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern because of its wide range and possibly large population. [1]
Arctomys himalayanus was the scientific name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1841 who described marmot skins from the Himalayas. [2] In the 19th century, several Himalayan marmot specimens were described and proposed as subspecies. [3] Two genetically distinct subspecies are recognized today: [4]
The Himalayan marmot is very closely related to the Tarbagan marmot (M. sibirica) and somewhat more distantly to the black-capped marmot (M. camtschatica). These three form a species group, with their next nearest relatives being the bobak species group, which includes the bobak marmot (M. bobak) itself, as well as the grey marmot (M. baibacina) and forest-steppe marmot (M. kastschenkoi). In the past, the relatively short-furred and short-tailed marmots of the Palearctic region, i.e. Himalayan, Tarbagan, grey and forest-steppe, were all regarded as subspecies of the bobak marmot. [6]
The Himalayan marmot has a dense woolly fur that is rufous grey on the back and rufous yellowish on ears, belly and limbs. The bridge of its nose and end of tail is dark brown. [2] It is one of the largest marmots in the world, being about the size of a large housecat; their average body weight ranges from 4 to 9.2 kg (8.8 to 20.3 lb), with weights lowest post-hibernation in spring and highest prior to it in autumn. In the autumn, average weight is reportedly more than 7 kg (15 lb) in both sexes. The total length is about 45 to 67 cm (18 to 26 in), with a tail length of 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in). [7] [8] [9]
The Himalayan marmot occurs in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau at altitudes of 3,000–5,500 m (9,800–18,000 ft) in northeastern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. [6] [10] In China, it has been recorded in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Tibet, western Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. [11] In the west its distribution reaches that of the long-tailed marmot (M. caudata), but the two are not known to hybridise. The Himalayan marmot lives in short grass steppes or alpine habitats, typically above the tree line but below the permanent snow limit. [6]
The Himalayan marmot lives in colonies and excavates deep burrows that colony members share during hibernation. [10] The species hibernates from the late autumn to the early spring, on average for 7½ months. [6] The burrows are between 2 and 10 m (6 ft 7 in – 32 ft 10 in) deep, provided that the upper soil layer is sufficiently light and deep such as fluvioglacial, deluvial and alluvial deposits. Where soil conditions are ideal on alluvial terraces, marmot colonies comprise up to 30 families, with up to 10 families living in an area of 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi). The marmot eats plants growing on pastures, in particular the soft and juicy parts of grassy plant species like Carex , Agrostis , Deschampsia , Koeleria and flowering species like Euphrasia , Gentiana , Halenia , Polygonum , Primula , Ranunculus , Saussurea , Taraxacum , and Iris potaninii . [7]
Females become sexually mature at the age of two years. After one month of gestation they give birth to litters of two to 11 young. [10]
On the Tibetan plateau, marmot species form part of snow leopard prey. [12] Other predators of Himalayan marmots include Tibetan wolves, red fox, and large birds of prey like golden eagles. [13] [14]
It was known to the ancient Greek writers as the gold-digging ant apparently as reference to the fact that gold nuggets were found in the silts of the burrows these marmots dug. [15] [16] The French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed that the story of 'gold-digging ants' reported by the Greek historian Herodotus was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Minaro to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows. [17]
A photograph of a Himalayan marmot under attack by a Tibetan fox taken by Bao Yongqing won the overall prize in the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. [18]
The groundhog, also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. It was given its scientific name as Mus monax by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, based on a description of the animal by George Edwards, published in 1743.
Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota, with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, when they hibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family.
The hoary marmot is a species of marmot that inhabits the mountains of northwest North America. Hoary marmots live near the tree line on slopes with grasses and forbs to eat and rocky areas for cover.
The yellow-bellied marmot, also known as the rock chuck, is a large, stout-bodied ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It is one of fourteen species of marmots, and is native to mountainous and semi-arid regions of southwestern Canada and western United States, including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and the Great Basin, often living above 2,000 metres. The fur is mainly brown, with a dark bushy tail, yellow chest and white patch between the eyes, and they weigh up to approximately 5 kilograms. They live in burrows in colonies of up to twenty individuals with a single dominant male. They are diurnal and feed on plant material, insects, and bird eggs. They hibernate for approximately eight months starting in September and lasting through the winter.
The Tibetan fox, also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to elevations of about 5,300 m (17,400 ft). It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, on account of its widespread range in the Tibetan Plateau's steppes and semi-deserts.
The alpine marmot is a large ground-dwelling squirrel, from the genus of marmots. It is found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe, at heights between 800 and 3,200 m (2,600–10,500 ft) in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras and Northern Apennines. In 1948 they were reintroduced with success in the Pyrenees, where the alpine marmot had disappeared at end of the Pleistocene epoch.
The Olympic marmot is a rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It occurs only in the U.S. state of Washington, at the middle elevations of the Olympic Peninsula. The closest relatives of this species are the hoary marmot and the Vancouver Island marmot. In 2009, it was declared the official endemic mammal of Washington state.
Deosai National Park is a high-altitude alpine plain and national park located between the Skardu District and Astore District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Lying to the east of Nanga Parbat and in the western Himalayas, close to the central Karakoram Range surrounded by Deosai Mountains, the national park is in the tentative list under World Heritage Site of Pakistan.
The bobak marmot, also known as the steppe marmot, is a species of marmot that inhabits the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It is a social animal and inhabits steppe grassland, including cultivated field borders. It hibernates for more than half the year. Litter sizes average about five offspring and it takes three years for the young marmots to reach sexual maturity. Male offspring leave the home colony after their second winter, and about 60% of mature females give birth in any one year.
Ladakh is the home to endemic Himalayan wildlife, such as the bharal, yak, Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf and the iconic snow leopard. Hemis National Park, Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, and Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary are protected wildlife areas of Ladakh. The Mountain Institute, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group and the Snow Leopard Conservancy work on ecotourism in rural Ladakh. For such an elevated, arid area, Ladakh has great diversity of birds — 318 species have been recorded. Many of these birds reside at or seasonally breed in high-altitude wetlands, such as Tso Moriri, or near rivers and water sources.
The Himalayan brown bear, also known as the Himalayan red bear or isabelline bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear occurring in the western Himalayas. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to 2.2 m long, while females are a little smaller. It is omnivorous and hibernates in dens during the winter.
The long-tailed marmot or golden marmot is a marmot species in the family Sciuridae. It occurs in mountainous regions in the central parts of Asia where it lives in open or lightly wooded habitats, often among rocks where dwarf junipers grow. It is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern. As suggested by its name, it is a relatively long-tailed species of marmot.
The gray marmot, grey marmot, or Altai marmot is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is one of the larger marmots in the genus Marmota. It occurs in mountainous grasslands and shrub lands of central Asia, and is one of the 9 Palearctic (Eurasia) species. It is found in Xinjiang Province in China, southeastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and in the Altai and Tien Shan Mountains in southeastern Siberia in Russia. In the Mongolian Altai, its range overlaps with that of the Tarbagan marmot. Gray marmots form social groups, live in burrows, and hibernate.
The Alaska marmot, also known as the Brooks Range marmot or the Brower's marmot, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. Once considered to be the same species as the hoary marmot, it is now known to be unique. Alaska marmots are found in the scree slopes of the Brooks Range, Alaska. Specifically, they prefer to dwell on rocky, mountainous terrain, generally near lakes. They eat vegetation found on mountainsides, such as grasses, seeds, and lichen. Their relatively thick bodies are covered in dense, grey fur. They live in large colonies that consist of multiple families. During the winter, they hibernate for long periods of time in burrows. While not well researched, they are not believed to be particularly threatened, by human activity or otherwise. The Alaskan government has designated February 2 as "Marmot Day," a holiday intended to recognize the prevalence of marmots in the state, similar to the more widely celebrated American holiday of Groundhog Day.
The black-capped marmot is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the Russian Far East, but its range is discontinuous and divided into three main parts, each with its own subspecies. The black-capped marmot lives in arctic tundra and alpine habitats from near sea-level to an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Depending on exact subpopulation, they hibernate for 6–8 months each year, which is long for a marmot.
The Menzbier's marmot is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae from Central Asia. Its name commemorates Russian zoologist Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier.
The tarbagan marmot is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in China, northern and western Mongolia, and Russia. In the Mongolian Altai Mountains, its range overlaps with that of the Gray marmot. The species was classified as endangered by the IUCN in 2008.
The gold-digging ant is a mythical insect described in classical and medieval bestiaries. They were dog- or fox-sized ants that dug up gold in sandy areas. Some versions of the Physiologus said they came from Ethiopia, while Herodotus claimed they were located in India.
The Tatra marmot is an endemic subspecies of marmot found in the Tatra Mountains. In the past, it was a game animal, but in the 19th century, its population drastically declined. It is a herbivore active in the summer, living in territorial family clans in the mountains from the upper montane to the alpine zone. It is one of the rarest vertebrates in Poland and is subject to strict legal protection. It is also legally protected in Slovakia. The Red List of Threatened Animals in Poland and the Polish Red Book of Animals classify the Tatra marmot as a strongly endangered subspecies (EN), while the Red List for the Carpathians in Poland designates it as "CR" – critically endangered. It is a relatively poorly researched animal.