Groundhog

Description

The animals have a snout-vent length of about 40 to 50 cm. The tail length is 10 to 20 cm. The weight varies within the course of the year. Healthy adult males weight at least three kg. The weight of the females is slightly less.

The head is blackish and grey with a light-coloured snout. The ears are small and furry. The coat consists of dense, strong kemps and an undercoat of shorter, somewhat wavy hairs. The coat colour is basically very variable. The back can be slate grey, light brown or reddish brown, the underparts are usually more yellowish. Occasionally there are also individuals with a blackish coat. The coat is changed once a year. Most individuals change it in June.

The muscular and strong shoulder girdle and the pronounced digging paws are striking features of the Alpine groundhog's body. The front legs are a little shorter than the hind legs. The front feet have four toes, the hind feet five. Alpine groundhogs are sole walkers, the soles of their feet have well-developed pads and are not furred.

Habitat

The altitudes where most Alpine groundhogs occur range from the local tree line to about 200 m above it. Groundhogs also use cleared areas below the tree line that have been kept permanently free of trees by humans. However, they do not go below certain altitudes and are generally only observed above an altitude of at least 800 meters. In good groundhog areas, 40 to 80 groundhogs live on one square km.

Alpine groundhogs are able to cope with extreme alpine conditions and colonise alpine mats up to the foot of glaciers. They occasionally reach altitudes of 3000 m. A suitable habitat must have alpine grass, as this is the only place they can find sufficient food plants. It must also offer deep soil that enables the groundhogs to build their extensive burrows. They prefer south-facing slopes, as these are most likely to be free of snow in spring. On such slopes, the growing season also starts earlier and lasts longer.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpenmurmeltier). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 19 August 2021