When the marmot comes, he will find me gone.
July 27, 2006 1:26 PM   Subscribe

Everybody please read about marmots. "Marmots are large, about the size of a housecat, charismatic sciurid rodents found in the Northern Hemisphere." [Much, much more inside]
posted by marxchivist (47 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Interesting Marmot facts: "Hoary marmots are grizzled and the name does not reflect their character: some populations of them are monogamous" and "Central Asian marmots carry plague, thus the great Russian interest in marmot biology."

The Vancouver Island Marmot is very photogenic, but also endangered.

Marmots to color .

Test your Marmot IQ.

Marmots are also credited as being the famous (?!) giant ants that dug up gold in the mythical city of El Dorado.

Who knew Marmots were so interesting.

Oh, and if you wanted to go to the International Conference on Genus Marmota, you're too late. It was last year.
posted by marxchivist at 1:27 PM on July 27, 2006


Also, let's not forget - let's NOT forget, Dude - that keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city - that aint legal either.
posted by The Radish at 1:33 PM on July 27, 2006 [2 favorites]


Brought to you by Twentieth Century Vole.
posted by Pastabagel at 1:33 PM on July 27, 2006


I second Radish's motion that this thread degenerate into a Lebowski quote-fest.
posted by deadfather at 1:36 PM on July 27, 2006


How 'bout a nice Remy Marmot!
posted by NationalKato at 1:38 PM on July 27, 2006


If you ever have a chance to go up to Paradise at Mt. Rainier during the summer these are the brown things that you only see running around out of the corner of your eye. After seeing a few too many brown flashes you're liable to get really freaked out and return to the parking lot. I did.
posted by photoslob at 1:39 PM on July 27, 2006


I, for one, welcome our charismatic sciurid hoary overlords. just covering all the bases
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:43 PM on July 27, 2006


"If you're going to keep it as a pet, remember: marmots hibernate! So, when you wake up one winter morning to find a cold and barely breathing marmot--it's probably fine."

*retrieves marmot from shoe box*

*blushes*
posted by leotrotsky at 1:43 PM on July 27, 2006


I second Radish's motion that this thread degenerate into a Lebowski quote-fest.
posted by deadfather at 4:36 PM EST on July 27


I figured this thread would degenerate into something, but I didn't anticipate a Lebowski quote-fest.

While reading about the giant gold digging ant theory, my co-worker said: "This is the best of the web."

Subsequently, you have this post.
posted by marxchivist at 1:44 PM on July 27, 2006


"Marmots are large, about the size of a housecat, charismatic sciurid rodents found in the Northern Hemisphere."

I can't read that without hearing the Hinterland Who's Who music in the background. And they don't even have a marmot film. Rats.

/canadian
posted by hangashore at 1:46 PM on July 27, 2006


I found this great webcam a while back showing grizzly bears gorging themselves on marmots, but dammit I can't find the link.
posted by Flashman at 2:04 PM on July 27, 2006


Hey, Radish, What are you, a fucking park ranger now? Who gives a shit about the marmot?
posted by nyxxxx at 2:04 PM on July 27, 2006


Shameless self-link! Shot this a couple weeks ago.
posted by foozleface at 2:06 PM on July 27, 2006


The Long (Marmot) Goodbye
posted by homunculus at 2:10 PM on July 27, 2006


I have a marmot (groundhog) picture from last week, too. Odd story behind that pic.
posted by F Mackenzie at 2:12 PM on July 27, 2006


Another example of the marmoteer-agenda invading MeFi. When will they leave us alone?!?!?
posted by blue_beetle at 2:16 PM on July 27, 2006


hangashore: Sweet mother of all that is Canadian, I humbly bow before your greatness for reminding me of my many childhood memories of the hinterland!
posted by blue_beetle at 2:19 PM on July 27, 2006


Foozleface, that's a mighty cute one. And while we're on the shameless self-links, here's one that startled the crap out of us while we were hiking Ranier. I swear the little rodent was just waiting 'til we were right underneath its log before squealing at the top of its lungs.

But don't get me wrong, marmots are trez cool. Good FPP.
posted by String at 2:21 PM on July 27, 2006


"Nice marmot..."
posted by stenseng at 2:29 PM on July 27, 2006


I've hated marmots ever since I saw what one of them did to The Dude.
posted by mullingitover at 2:30 PM on July 27, 2006


Actually, that was a ferret.
posted by stenseng at 2:49 PM on July 27, 2006


When I was 8 and in Rocky Mountain a marmot tried to steal my lollipop. Just tried to rip it out of my hand. But he couldn't take me. No, even at age 8 I could kick the ass of each and every any lollipop-thievin' marmot. God damn overhyped gophers.
posted by nflorin at 2:51 PM on July 27, 2006


Marmots can be trusting and tame, apparently.

On a hike in the woods long ago, a marmot clamored over to me and placed his head on the instep of my shoe -- as a gesture of friendship, I suppose.

Wish I had brought him home to meet my cat.
posted by Gordion Knott at 2:51 PM on July 27, 2006


I, for one, welcome our charismatic sciurid hoary overlords. just covering all the bases

Not all the bases:

This charismatic sciurid hoary rodent: it vibrates?

NOW we've convered all the bases.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:53 PM on July 27, 2006


COVERED.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:53 PM on July 27, 2006


A friend of mine was a ranger-naturalist at Paradise decades back. One day a large group of them were sitting around when the phone rang and the newest naturalist answered it, using the speakerphone.

The caller said "I was just up there and saw this little brown..."

The entire roomful of rangers shouted out "MARMOT!"

And the caller finished ".... bird, and I was wondering ..."
posted by hank at 3:02 PM on July 27, 2006


Someone say marmots?
posted by Mcable at 3:24 PM on July 27, 2006


Oddly, I didn't see anything on those links about their quaint habit of chewing through radiator hoses.
posted by Slothrup at 3:31 PM on July 27, 2006


My favorite marmots were the ones hanging out underneath the boardwalk at Old Faithful. We were just sittin' around waiting for the eruption, and every minute or so a marmot would saunter out from under boardwalk, check to see if any of us had perhaps divested ourselves of food products (we had not, for lo, we were good), and wander back.

This good ol' boy from Pennsylvania kept looking at them in A Certain Way and remarked that there was good eatin' on a groundhog.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:52 PM on July 27, 2006


I've hated marmots ever since one stole my socks atop Half Dome.
posted by slackbp at 4:12 PM on July 27, 2006


I spend a lot of weekends in Rocky Mountain National Park. The place is crawling with marmots. If you drive the Trail Ridge Road, it's not unusual to find traffic jams of people at the turnouts clustered around a single marmot, obliviously going about its day of licking rocks and... well, doing whatever it is marmots do.

Me, I prefer playing games with the chipmunks. They're quite friendly (thanks to all of the tourists from Florida who insist on feeding them Doritos, I'm sorry to say).
posted by jal0021 at 4:20 PM on July 27, 2006


I once tried to eat a marmot. Don't try to eat marmots.
posted by 517 at 4:40 PM on July 27, 2006


hangashore, HWW sure does have a marmot page. Look for Woodchuck.

Obligatory self-link to groundhog photo gallery. One of the pictures is being used by Polish auction site Świstak, which is named after the marmot.
posted by scruss at 4:50 PM on July 27, 2006


I was in Glacier National Park a while back and there was a marmot hanging out near one of the trails. There were a couple of guys just ahead of me watching it. They had obviously just seen it as I heard one guy remark: "Wow, look at that badger!" to which the second replied: "That's no badger, that's a beaver."

"That's no badger, that's a beaver" is, of course, a phrase that's remarkably hard to use in polite conversation and, I have on good authority, the third biggest insult in Northern Belgium.
posted by Staggering Jack at 5:20 PM on July 27, 2006


hangashore, HWW sure does have a marmot page. Look for Woodchuck.

That's what I get for Not. Reading. About. Marmots.
posted by hangashore at 5:28 PM on July 27, 2006


Who gives a shit about the marmot?!
posted by Joeforking at 5:32 PM on July 27, 2006


I love marmots. I have a much-treasured photo of me and some ski-buddies headfirst down in the marmot fountain in Zermatt. These are the memories that will transcend petty things like marriages and home porn.
posted by Decani at 6:25 PM on July 27, 2006


Marmot fountain, Zermatt.

Come on. It's cuuute!
posted by Decani at 6:27 PM on July 27, 2006



I once tried to eat a marmot. Don't try to eat marmots.

This reminds me of a (supposedly) Inuit recipe I saw in a bookstore somewhere.

LOON SOUP

1. Do not eat loon soup.
posted by Zinger at 7:44 PM on July 27, 2006


Every spring I shoot about 40 of the fuzzy little hole digging bastards. This year wasn’t so bad though as a Red-Tailed Hawk took up residence in one of my trees and did a pretty good job of thinning them out.
posted by Tenuki at 11:53 PM on July 27, 2006


Yay!
posted by marmot at 1:00 AM on July 28, 2006


Mi cumpleaños es el día de la marmota.
posted by crataegus at 1:22 AM on July 28, 2006


All bases not covered yet ZenMasterTHis.

That sure is a Rodent Of Unusual Size.

Covered.
posted by Sk4n at 7:25 AM on July 28, 2006


When the marmot comes, he will find me gone.

Marxchivist: Are you quoting "On Any Other Day" by The Police? Shouldn't that be "When the wombat comes, he will find me gone?"
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:06 AM on July 28, 2006


Marxchivist: Are you quoting "On Any Other Day" by The Police? Shouldn't that be "When the wombat comes, he will find me gone?"
posted by ZenMasterThis


Finally! 40+ comments in and someone gets it. I knew it was supposed to be a wombat.
posted by marxchivist at 9:27 AM on July 28, 2006


I love that tune. :)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:44 AM on July 28, 2006


All bases not covered yet ZenMasterTHis.

That sure is a Rodent Of Unusual Size.

Covered.


We gotta get these motherf*ckin' marmots off this motherf*ckin' plane.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:01 AM on July 28, 2006


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