Glacier Animal Identification IV

The largest squirrel you will see in Glacier is not the illegally fed Columbian Ground Squirrel. It is instead the largest of North American ground squirrels, the Hoary Marmot.

 

Named for their speckled gray color, the gargantuan rodents enjoy life on the talus slopes.

 

As you can see by how close we took our photos, they are pretty much oblivious to humans. We did not intentionally approach that closely to them, they just popped out of the bushes right in front of us and went about their business. The one in the first two pictures might have been leading us away from its little baby marmot which, because of the mother's great distraction skills, we didn't notice in time to get in the picture.

 

They have a distinctive whistle that can often be heard when hiking near the tree line.

 

While they may not qualify as Rodents of Unusual Size, they are certainly Squirrels of Unusual Size.