| Himalayan marmot | |
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| Individual at Tshophu Lake,Bhutan (above), group with worn pelage inLadakh, India (below) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Marmota |
| Species: | M. himalayana |
| Binomial name | |
| Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) | |
TheHimalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) is amarmot species that inhabits alpine grasslands throughout theHimalayas and on theTibetan Plateau. It isIUCN Red Listed asLeast Concern because of its wide range and possibly large population.[1]
Arctomys himalayanus was thescientific name proposed byBrian Houghton Hodgson in 1841 who described marmot skins from the Himalayas.[2] In the 19th century, several Himalayan marmot specimens were described and proposed assubspecies.[3] Two genetically distinct subspecies are recognized today:[4]
The Himalayan marmot is very closely related to theTarbagan marmot (M. sibirica) and somewhat more distantly to theblack-capped marmot (M. camtschatica). These three form aspecies group, with their next nearest relatives being the bobak species group, which includes thebobak marmot (M. bobak) itself, as well as thegrey marmot (M. baibacina) andforest-steppe marmot (M. kastschenkoi). In the past, the relatively short-furred and short-tailed marmots of thePalearctic region, i.e. Himalayan, Tarbagan, grey and forest-steppe, were all regarded assubspecies 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 largehousecat; 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 theHimalayas andTibetan 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 India, it can be seen in high-altitude regions of Ladakh.[11][12] In China, it has been recorded inXinjiang,Qinghai,Gansu,Tibet, westernSichuan andYunnan provinces.[13] In the west its distribution reaches that of thelong-tailed marmot (M. caudata), but the two are not known tohybridise. The Himalayan marmot lives in short grass steppes oralpine habitats, typically above thetree line but below the permanent snow limit.[6]
The Himalayan marmot lives incolonies and excavates deep burrows that colony members share duringhibernation.[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 asfluvioglacial,deluvial andalluvial 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 likeCarex,Agrostis,Deschampsia,Koeleria and flowering species likeEuphrasia,Gentiana,Halenia,Polygonum,Primula,Ranunculus,Saussurea,Taraxacum, andIris potaninii.[7]
In Ladakh, Himalayan marmots interact with humans who feed them. This have led to greater lesser survival instinct behaviour among the marmots resulting in them being easily preyed upon by stray dogs, or other natural predators.[14]
Females become sexually mature at the age of two years. After one month ofgestation they give birth to litters of two to 11 young.[10]
On theTibetan Plateau, marmot species form part ofsnow leopardprey.[15] Other predators of Himalayan marmots includeTibetan wolves,red fox, and large birds of prey likegolden eagles.[16][17]
It was known to theancient Greek writers as thegold-digging ant apparently as reference to the fact thatgold nuggets were found in the silts of the burrows these marmots dug.[18][19] TheFrenchethnologistMichel Peissel claimed that the story of'gold-digging ants' reported by the GreekhistorianHerodotus was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of theDeosai plateau and the habit of local tribes such as theMinaro to collect thegold dust excavated from their burrows.[20]
A photograph of a Himalayan marmot under attack by aTibetan fox taken byBao Yongqing won the overall prize in the 2019Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.[21]
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