The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia Encyclopedia World Factbook American Heritage Coll. Marmots inhabit plains or open country in mountainous regions. They hibernate during the winter and mate immediately thereafter. Active during the day, they feed chiefly on grasses and other green plants.
Marmots have stout bodies, rounded ears, and powerful digging claws.
They can sit upright. They vary in length from 15 to 25 in. The coarse fur, which is usually brown on the upper parts, is often tipped with white. The yellow-bellied marmot, M. flaviventris, is found in W North America from S Canada to New Mexico. The hoary marmot, M. caligata, also called whistler from its shrill warning call, is found in Siberia and from Alaska S to Idaho.