Welcome to Colleen’s Corner. This is a column meant for fun and some information About myself: I am a Freelance Photographer you often see me on the side of the road or in various places taking photos of different things animals, birds, places, people etc. l have lived in Lumby for over 18 years, you have seen my photos in the newspaper (Lumby Valley Times) and once in awhile in the Vernon Morning Star, and the Lumby Art Gallery. Photography is my passion. Disclaimer: The information on some of my photos that I write about a lot of times come from the Internet or books I research them, hopefully the facts are as close to the truth as I can come.
By Colleen Fielding
Walking through the Salmon trails sometimes you hear a small sound like a chirp, a squeak, or a whistle, if scared the whistle becomes louder. You look around and sometimes you find where the sound is coming from, look closely at the wood or rock piles. Do you see them? They are about the size of a small dog. The colours are likely to be a kind of light yellow, maybe even reddish brown. They have a white muzzle, while their head is a darker colour. They have a very bushy tail, and a chunky body. Yep, there they are.
The Yellowed -Bellied Marmots are very common in the Okanagan. Closely related to the ground squirrel. The Yellow- Bellied Marmots favourite pastime is sunbathing. When not sunbathing, their chores are to dig burrows, these burrows are where they sleep, have their nurseries, and their escape tunnels, the burrows are hidden under rocks, sheds, older foundations, and natural slopes. They like to eat grass, flowers, clover, and dandelions, leaves and sometimes for a different snack they will eat some insects. They are very social creatures, living in colonies with a lot of burrows. You will see a dominant male who will oversee his territory with a few females. The young will stay in the colony for up to two years.
The Yellow-Bellied Marmot hibernates for the longest time, they start around late September -October, then they come out sometime in April. They can lose up to about one third of their body weight over winter. In the summer they will fatten up quickly to be able to survive the next winter. These marmots can adapt greatly in human environments. They are usually harmless but can chew the wiring in your vehicle or dig under your sheds. Their predators are Coyote, Fox, Eagle, Hawk, Cougar, and sometimes bears. This marmot is not on the endangered list.
In the world there are about 15 species of marmots, BC has four different types. The Hoary Marmot can be found in the Rockies, Coast mountains and Interior Ranges. They have a dark brown body, white nose and a white patch that goes between their eyes. The Hoary Marmot has a very high, loud whistle, the town of Whistler BC is named after the Hoary Marmots whistle!
Then there is the Woodchuck also called a Groundhog, this one’s coat is kind of brownish looking, they have a rusty looking belly and black feet. They can be found In the Columbia and Rockies. They are solitary, not living in groups like their cousin the Yellow-Bellied marmot.
The Vancouver Island Marmot is one of the only endemic mammals in Canada. This rare marmot is not found anywhere else on Earth except for on Vancouver Island. This marmot’s coat is a chocolate brown, and lighter face markings, they are also one of the largest species of the marmots. They live in alpine meadows that are maintained by the avalanche cycles.
The Vancouver Island Marmot is under Canada’s endangered species list, in 2003 this marmot only had 30 of this species left, but due to conservation breeding there are now about 400 or more of the very social Vancouver Island Marmots.
