Olympic Marmot
Olympic Marmot is a large stout marmot with a broad head, small rounded ears, and seasonally yellow-brown to dark coat and is most meaningfully sought in subalpine and alpine meadows and talus of the Olympic Mountains.
Artwork inspired by Morris Graves
Olympic Marmot is a large stout marmot with a broad head, small rounded ears, and seasonally yellow-brown to dark coat and is most meaningfully sought in subalpine and alpine meadows and talus of the Olympic Mountains. The field identification begins with a large stout marmot with a broad head, small rounded ears, and seasonally yellow-brown to dark coat, then depends on subalpine and alpine meadows and talus of the Olympic Mountains rather than color alone.
Watch Olympic Marmots from established meadow or talus routes, recording body proportions, alarm behavior, elevation, and colony setting without approaching a burrow. Most aboveground activity occurs from May into September.
- Primary range
- Washington
- Habitat
- subalpine and alpine meadows and talus of the Olympic Mountains
- Status
- Washington endemic
Quick guide
- At a glance
- A large stout marmot with a broad head, small rounded ears, and seasonally yellow-brown to dark coat
- Diagnostic detail
- May–September in subalpine meadows
A field sequence for Olympic Marmot
- Establish build and posture
- Look for a large, stout marmot with a broad head and small rounded ears, then compare its ground-hugging posture before judging variable coat color.
- Place it in the Olympics
- Use subalpine meadow and adjacent talus in the Olympic Mountains as essential context for this peninsula endemic.
- Watch natural behavior
- Notice grazing, alarm calls, burrow use, and scanning from a rock during the May–September active season without approaching the colony.
- Protect meadow and burrow
- Remain on established routes, never feed a marmot, and allow it to cross or retreat without blocking its path or trampling vegetation.
Good to know
Watch from established meadow routes, never feed an animal, and share sensitive locations without publishing precise coordinates.
Notice these
- A large stout marmot with a broad head, small rounded ears, and seasonally yellow-brown to dark coat
- subalpine and alpine meadows and talus of the Olympic Mountains
- May–September in subalpine meadows