Prof. Alexander Nikolskii's long-term studies have shown that marmots call faster when they live in areas with more vertical relief and broken sight lines. Marmots on the steppes tend to call more slowly. Marmots tend to have a highly developed sense of place. Many species of marmots live in stunning alpine settings. In Switzerland, monuments are created to marmots.
Many countries honor marmots on postage stamps.
Comic book stories have been written about some lucky marmots. There is a big international meeting of marmotologists every three of years. The first was in Italy, the second in France, and the third in Russia. The next meeting will be in Austria in 2000. Stanford University Press, Stanford.