Murmeltier Haute-Garonne

The Alpine marmot lives on open alpine meadows and scree slopes above the tree line in the Alps, with further populations in parts of the Carpathians and the High Tatra. It needs alpine grassland with sufficient forage plants and deep soils that allow it to dig its extensive burrow systems. South facing slopes are preferred because they free of snow earliest in spring. The burrows can hold several chambers and reach considerable length, they serve as living quarters, nursery, and hibernation site.

Marmots live in stable family groups of up to about twenty animals, built around a dominant breeding pair and joined by offspring from several years. Their well known whistle is more nuanced than it sounds, a single whistle signals immediate aerial danger, while a series of short whistles warns of slowly approaching threats at ground level. The animals overwinter together with a true hibernation of roughly six to seven months, during which body temperature drops sharply and individuals can lose up to about one third of their body weight.

In large parts of the Alpine arc, the hunt for marmot, the Murmeltierjagd, has a long tradition. In Austria and Switzerland the marmot is classed as game and is hunted during a short season in late summer and early autumn, with meat, fur, and the rendered marmot fat used in traditional remedies and ointments. In Germany the Alpine marmot is also game under hunting law, but in Bavaria no open season is currently set. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern with a stable population, a classification confirmed since 2016.