Species: Marmota baibacina = Gray (Altai) marmot. Gray marmot Common types of marmot
Severe spring-summer droughts are common in boibak habitats. Significant burning of vegetation leads to a decrease in their numbers, which was noted by A. A. Silantyev (1894). According to his information, in the Saratov region, due to lack of food, due to drought in 1891, these animals went into hibernation poorly nourished. In the spring of 1892, they emerged from their holes very exhausted. That spring, the exhausted boibaks, even in danger, could not reach the hole, but lay down exhausted on the way to it. Many of them died from predators, and some probably died from exhaustion before leaving their burrows. Severe droughts apparently lead to a large decrease in marmot population density in Kazakhstan, since in the spring of 1958 we found weakened marmots pecked by birds, even after a slight burning of the vegetation in mid-summer 1957.
True, severe droughts are observed relatively rarely. In addition, bobbacks in Kazakhstan are relatively adapted to them. During the years of spring abundance of food, they become fat very quickly and can lie down as early as July (Shubin, 1963), avoiding drought, which often occurs at the end of summer. In years of early drought, they occur later, after the secondary vegetation of plants. In Kazakhstan bobak gives birth to cubs much earlier than in the European part of the USSR. They emerge from their burrows when food is abundant, accumulate fat faster, and survive minor droughts relatively well. However, in the early stages of reproduction, the cubs often die during lactation, since in some years the females are very exhausted due to the late development of plants. For example, in 1958 the snow began to melt late. Large thawed patches appeared only 10 days (April 15-16) after the bobaks came out. A long cold spell in the second half of April and the first ten days of May greatly delayed the growing season of plants. It rained and snowed often. Lack of food and cold, damp weather led to greater depletion of the animals (including lactating females); the number of marmot chicks in families was half that in the favorable year of 1957 (Tables 49, 50), although the intensity of reproduction in these years was almost the same. Even fewer marmots were observed in 1959, and not only in the south of the Tselinograd region, but also in the Ruzaevsky district of the Kokchetav region. If in 1957 in June and later they made up over 70% of all marmots, then in 1959 - only 21-24%. The average number of income earners in families changed accordingly. According to M.I. Ismagilov (oral communication), in the spring of 1959 the feeding conditions for bobak were poor.
Especially many marmots died in 1956 in the Ruzaevsky district of the Kokchetav region in July and August. That year, according to hunter I.D. Martin (oral communication), bobcats were not encountered at all. Judging by the age composition of the population, there were very few of them further south. Comparing the weight of marmots caught in April (Fig. 68), we see that in 1957 there were almost no one-year-old animals, and in 1958 there were almost 50%. This is also indicated by the age composition of the population. In 1957 in the Tselinograd region near the village. Ladyzhenka yearlings produced only 0.8%, and in 1958, south of the lake. Shoindykul two-year-olds caught 4.5%. In 1957, there were 27.17% of two-year-olds; therefore, in 1955 there were almost 6 times more income-bearing children than in 1956.
In 1956, spring in Northern Kazakhstan turned out to be very long and cold. In the North Kazakhstan region, snow fell even in early May. Bad weather conditions probably caused high mortality among boibak cubs.
The drought of the previous year apparently has a lesser effect on the death of young animals. Thus, in 1958 there were quite a lot of arrived individuals, as already mentioned above, despite the relatively dry previous year of 1957.
Thus, climatic conditions strongly influence the number of bobak, but most of all it is reduced by human activity. The range of the steppe marmot in Europe in the 18th–19th centuries. was significantly reduced as a result of the plowing of the steppes and persecution by humans. Due to the excessive fishing of bobak at the end of the last - beginning of the current century, its reserves were severely undermined in Kazakhstan. According to Ya. Ya. Polferov (1896), in the 19th century. this the beast was very numerous. According to I.V. Turkin and K.A. Satunin (1900), only at the Irbit and Nizhny Novgorod fairs from 1880 to 1895 annually
On mountain groups (Ulken-Burkitt and Vakhty, and, possibly, on a number of others), which are almost not isolated from the main part of the gray marmot's range, but are located only on its outskirts, it lives M. baibacina baibacina with some signs of the boibak (relatively more massive skull, less long hair, weaker development of the dark ends of the guard hairs), but they quickly disappear as they move away from the border of the range to the south - into its depths.
All this is the presence of boibaks in the mountains of the Kazakh Highlands (Ermentau, Zheltau, Kuu, etc.), the presence of some features of the gray marmot in them, the presence of small isolated populations of “hybrid” marmots in the territory between the ranges of the boibak and the gray marmot, as well as the manifestation of some The signs of boibak in the gray marmot at the northern border of its range are the result of a single process. It consists in the fact that with the pulsation of the boundaries of the ranges of marmots of these two species, there was a relatively long and, probably, repeated contact between them, accompanied by one or another (different in different places) degree of hybridization with a general tendency of reduction of the range of the gray marmot, fragmentation and retreat to southeast, the settlement of the bobak in the same direction, and the absorption of small isolated residual populations of the gray marmot by it (Kapitonov, 1966a).
What specific characteristics differ between the bobak and the gray marmot from the Kazakh Highlands? In literature this the issue is not sufficiently covered, since all the authors took the gray marmot as a whole and therefore some of the characteristics characteristic of this animal in the Tien Shan and Altai are weakly expressed or absent in the Kazakh Highlands. Therefore, we compare the plain bobak (M. bobac schaganensis) from Central Kazakhstan and gray marmot (M. baibacina baibacina) from the Kazakh Highlands.
The gray marmot has a more elongated, less massive muzzle, and the upper line of the head in profile is noticeably flattened, on average larger and rounder auricles, less overgrown with hair, longer (as a percentage of the body length) vibrissae, a less developed connective tissue layer of skin on the distal parts of the nose, eyes are larger, on average, relative to body length) more a long tail(25.5 in males and 24.5% U females of the gray marmot and, respectively, 21.3 and 18.3% for the bobak). The hair of the gray marmot is more luxuriant and higher than that of the bobak. So, in 10 copies. baybakov from the river basin Tersakkan and 10 copies. gray marmot from the Temirshi, Koshubai and Chingiztau mountains average fur height (in mm) on the side of the middle part of the body there was: the highest guard hair height was 31.6 in boibak and 42.0 in gray, the average guard hair height was 24.2 and 34.8, respectively, the average down height was 16.4 and 22.9. Moreover, the extreme values of these indicators did not transgress.
Quite clear differences are also noted in the color of molted animals, while the old (spring-summer) hair coat is much less distinguishable. This is caused not only by the fading and breaking off of the ends of the guard hairs, but also by the fact that during the rutting period in the spring, boibak males, according to our observations, often pour urine on their belly, chest, throat and muzzle, which is why these parts of the body acquire a dark buffy color (especially the sides of the muzzle). -brown color, characteristic of the gray marmot at this time of year. After molting it disappears. Under the influence of urine, the fur also darkens in the genital area (including in females), which is also observed in other species of marmots, sometimes even in marmots. The differences in the color of the gray marmot and the bobak at the end of the molt are mainly in the more buffy-reddish (sometimes buffy-blackish) coloring of the lower surface of the body in the first and in the greater darkening of its head, back and sides. The latter is due greater height dark (main and distal) zones of fur in a gray marmot. When measured on the skins mentioned above, the average height of the main and distal (color depends on the latter) dark zones was: for bobak 6.6 and 6.0, and for gray 9.6 and 11.6, respectively mm. The extreme values of these indicators did not transgress.
The skull of the gray marmot (Fig. 71) differs from that of the boibach (Fig. 60) by open eye-orbital notches (in boibaks, including mountain ones, they are semi-closed), a slightly concave frontal platform (this is also typical of some mountain boibaks), slightly curved downwards supraorbital processes thin at the base and slightly running towards the end. The nasal bones of the gray marmot are relatively wider in front, tapering evenly and by 4-8 mm protrude beyond the nasal processes of the premaxillary bones. In the boibak, the outer lines of the nasal bones in the posterior half are almost parallel to each other and barely protrude beyond the nasal processes of the premaxillary bones.
The gray marmot is also distinguished by a large, usually elongated, pre-wing opening and a 1.5-2 times smaller lacrimal opening (in the bobak, on the contrary), a rounded ventral edge lower jaw in a section along a perpendicular restored to its inner upper edge against the fourth molar (in boibak the edge is sharp), a more developed anterior upper tubercle (compared to the lower one) on the masseteric area of the lower jaw (in boibak, on the contrary) and its articular process more bent inwards . In addition, the gray marmot differs from the bobak in the poorly developed superior-posterior processes of the pterygoid processes, which almost never close with the anterior-internal processes of the auditory drums. And in a bobak they, as a rule, close together (if not broken off).
The gray marmot also differs from the bobak in the structure of the auditory ossicles (Ognev, 1947) and baculum (Kapitonov, 1966a), an elongated scapula and its more (absolutely and relatively) long caracoid process. Thus, the ratio of its length to the largest lateral diameter of the articular surface of the scapula in the plain boibak is 0.84-1.08, on average 1.00, in the mountain bobak - 0.80-1.06, on average 0.90, and in the gray marmot - 1.08-1.31, average 1.24. The extreme upper point of the gray marmot's thigh is formed by the surface of its head, and in the bobak - the dorsal edge of the large swivel.
The tibia of the gray marmot of the Kazakh Highlands is characterized by the absence or weak development of a notch on the articular surface of the distal epiphysis, which is well developed in the boibak (Kapitonov, 1966a).
The caudal spine of the gray marmot has 21-23 vertebrae, while the bobak has 19-20. Thus, the gray marmot from the Kazakh highlands (M. b. baibacina) good and in many ways different from boibak (M. b. schaganensis). Therefore, despite the presence transitional forms Between them, bobak and gray marmot should be considered independent species.
Subspecies differentiation of the gray marmot has not been sufficiently studied. Of the four described subspecies: Altai (M. b. baibacina Kastsch.) (Kashchenko, 1899), Tien Shan (M. b. centralis Thomas) (Thomas, 1909), Ogneva (M. b. ognevi Scalon) (Skaloy, 1950) and Kashchenko (M. b. kastschenkoi Stroganov et Judin) (Stroganov and Yudin, 1956) only the first two are common in Kazakhstan.
Altaic gray marmot — M. b. baibacina(Fig. 69, 70) is characterized by a very dark coloration of the upper body, with the head being darker than the back, and the transition between them is gradual. The dark brown coloration of the cheeks usually also affects the vibrissae area. The belly is not bright, but yellowish-rusty with an admixture of brown tones. Distribution: Altai, Saur, Tarbagatai, Kazakh Highlands, Chingiztau.
Most authors (Ognev, 1947; Gromov, 1952, 1963, 1965; Galkina, 1962) quite rightly classify the gray marmot from the Kazakh Highlands as a subspecies M. b. baibacina. However, there are some differences between the animals of the Kazakh Highlands (mountains Temirshi, Koshubai, Kent, Chingiztau - 58 specimens) from the “Altai” (Tarbagatai, Saur and Altai - 67 specimens). They are as follows:
1) In marmots from the Kazakh highlands, the chest and belly are duller, the red color in many individuals is largely replaced by yellow-ocher, often with a blackish tint; The spines of the back are darker;
2) in “Altai” marmots, the abdominal rusty-ocher stripe is narrower, it is more clearly and sharply separated from the usually lighter (especially in the anterior half of the body) sides. In individuals from the Kazakh Highlands, this stripe is wider, more blurred and less clearly demarcated from the darker sides than in the “Altai” individuals. Moreover, the brown or almost black mottled sides of specimens from the highlands descend lower and sometimes merge with the ocher belly;
3) the white spot on the lower lip of the “Altai” marmots is lighter and closer to pure white than in specimens from the highlands. The whitish border of the nasal planum in the former is lighter and more distinct than in the latter;
4) in the “Altai” marmot the difference between the head and back, which is dark on top, is greater (the head is darker) than in individuals from the highlands, although the transition in both is gradual;
5) in “Altai” animals, the upper dark zone of fur on the center of the back is on average lower (11 mm), than in individuals from the highlands (13 mm), and the lower one is dark on the contrary (12.6 - in Altai and 10.7 mm- in the highlands). The overall height of the hairline (middle of the back) in individuals from Altai is noticeably somewhat lower than in highlands, which is also noted by N. Berger (1936). It also indicates less hair density (1944 hairs per 1 cm2) and shorter downy hair in the marmot from the Kazakh Highlands (Semipalatinsk region) compared to those of animals from Altai (2056 hairs per 1 cm2), but these data on fur density in both cases are somewhat underestimated. No significant differences were found in the structure of the skull, auditory ossicles and baculum (10 specimens from the Kazakh Highlands, 10 from Tarbagatai, 20 from the Ukok Plateau in Altai and three from Saura were examined).
Marmota baibacina Kastchenkoi Stroganov et Judin, 1956Squad Rodents (Rodentia)
Squirrel family (Sciuridae)
Taxonomic position. Suborder Sciuromorpha, Brandt, 1855. Superfamily Sciuroidea s. 1., tribe Marmotini s. str.
Status. IV category.
Brief description of the species. A large marmot, body length reaches 65, tail - 13 cm. The fur on the dorsal side is sandy-yellow, with black or black-brown ends of the spine, on the ventral side it is brownish-red. The top of the head is dark coffee in color: the tail on top is colored on the back, darker below. Winter fur is relatively long, soft, and thick.
General distribution. Distributed in Mongolia and China. It is found in Kyrgyzstan to the west to the eastern slopes of the Fergana ridge and the valley of the river. Arpa, in the mountains of South-Eastern Kazakhstan. Within Russia it is found in the Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, the Republic of Tyva, Tomsk and Kemerovo regions.
Distribution in the region. On the territory of the Novosibirsk region, the distribution of the species is limited both in the past and in the present by the right bank of the Ob River, which is due to the landscape features of this region. In general, in the region, marmots are found in the following areas: Ordynsky (right bank part), Iskitimsky, Toguchinsky, Bolotninsky, Moshkovsky, Maslyaninsky, Cherepanovsky, Suzunsky.
Habitats. All habitats are confined to elements of rugged and dissected relief (hill slopes, gullies, ravines, river terraces). Sometimes during resettlement, marmots occupy biotopes that are unusual for them: holes and ditches dug by humans, the outskirts of abandoned villages. Marmots avoid wet places, continuous forests and flat plains.
Number and trends of its change. The first survey of marmots using a unified methodology was carried out in 1984. In subsequent years, these works were carried out irregularly and not throughout the entire territory. Available materials on the number of animals show that over the past 35 years there has been a consistent decline in the number of species in the region, which in 1969 was . 8 thousand, and in 1984 - 7 thousand individuals. Currently, the number of animals is estimated at 5-6 thousand individuals.
Main limiting factors. In practice, the distribution of the marmot throughout the region is determined by the degree of agricultural impact on its habitat. The second most important limiting factor for the species is poaching, the calculation of which is currently reducing the number of the species within the settlements that remain away from agricultural development.
Features of biology and ecology. They live in colonies. Settlements are most often arranged on sunny exposures of beams, hills, i.e. where the snow melts early. Marmots are true burrowers. Animals have certain requirements for places to build burrows. Burrows are dug in dry areas; the nature of the soil and the level of groundwater should allow digging holes to such a depth that ensures the optimal temperature in the nest, and, consequently, the body temperature of the animal during hibernation(the lowest fat consumption occurs at a temperature of +6°C). The environment must ensure visual and audio communication between individual individuals of the colony, and thereby the safety of these relatively defenseless and sedentary animals. Near the burrow there should be herbaceous vegetation suitable for feeding. There are two types of burrows: nesting (also wintering) and temporary, serving as shelter. The burrow has several nesting chambers, and the total length of the passages can reach tens of meters. During the construction, expansion, repair and cleaning of burrows, the earth is thrown to the surface, and heaps up to 1.5 m high, the so-called marmots or butanes, are formed. Marmots are diurnal. However, in unusual conditions - the noise of agricultural machinery, the constant presence of humans near the burrows - they can go out to feed at night. Marmots are characterized by deep and long hibernation, during which significant changes in physiological state occur. In particular, thermoregulation turns off, body temperature drops from 36-38°C to 4.6-7.6°C; Gas exchange decreases, the number of heartbeats decreases from 100 to 10, respirations - from 20 to 3 per minute. The timing of burial, as well as exit from the hole, is not constant. By August most of marmots hibernate. Exit from the burrows begins with the appearance of the first thawed patches (approximately from the end of April). Marmots breed once a year and, obviously, not always annually. The rut occurs after waking up. They mate in burrows before emerging to the surface. Pregnancy lasts about 40 days. The number of cubs ranges from 2 to 11. The lactation period lasts 35-40 days. They become sexually mature in the third year of life. The life expectancy of marmots is about 15 years. The enemies of marmots are stray dogs, wolves, foxes, bears, steppe choruses and large feathered predators. Marmots suffer from plague and are carriers of this dangerous disease.
Breeding. No breeding work was carried out.
Security measures taken. Limited economic use. Protected in the biological reserve “Manuylovsky” Bolotninsky district).
Necessary security measures. A widespread ban on digging holes and restrictions on grazing. Preventing livestock and dogs from grazing in marmot settlement areas. Avoid allocating land for collective gardens in areas where colonies are located.
Information sources. 1 - Kolosov et al., 1979; 2 - Galkina, Yudin, Redina, 1986; 3 - Shubin, 1991; 4 - Kiryukhin, Delepnev, 1998.
Compiled by S. T. Kiryukhin.
Species: Marmota baibacina Kastschenko, 1899 = Gray (Altai) marmot
Species: Marmota baibacina Kastschenko, 1899 = Gray (Altai) marmot.
Body length up to 650 mm, tail - up to 130 mm (on average, about 27% of body length). By appearance similar to boibak and tarbagan. The fur is longer and softer than theirs. The main color is sandy-yellow on the dorsal side with a strong admixture of black or black-brown, since the dark ends of the awns are longer than those of these species. The lower surface is darker and redder than the sides; The buffy-reddish color often extends to the lower part of the cheeks. The dark coloration of the top of the head is well defined, but is usually not separated from the coloration of the upper surface of the neck and the front of the back; the exception is some individuals in faded early spring fur. The area under the eyes and on the cheeks (except for the lower and posterior parts of the latter) is heavily mottled with black and brown hair ends. The area of the labial vibrissae has the same color; if it is light, then it is separated by an area with brownish ripples from the light reddish color of the lower part of the cheeks. The coloring of the ears and the edging of the lips are similar to those of the bobak. The tail is dark below, colored above similar to the back. In the karyotype 2n = 38. 
The zygomatic arches are widely spaced and diverge backwards only slightly less than in the bobak. The postorbital tubercles are more pronounced than in other species; the swelling in the anterosuperior corner of the orbit and the open supraorbital foramina are poorly developed. The upper edges of the orbits are slightly raised, and the ends of the supraorbital processes, unlike those of the boibak, are thinner and directed more to the sides than down. The lacrimal bone is large, close to square in shape; its greatest height above the lacrimal opening is equal to or slightly less than the smallest distance between the lacrimal and prealacrimal. Both of them (especially the second one) are larger than those of the bobak. The posterior edge of the lacrimal bone along its entire length forms a suture with the anterior edge of the orbital wings of the maxillary bones (see Fig. 60, 3). The latter, large, like those of the tarbagan, are somewhat reduced, usually do not have a separate triangular or rectangular outgrowth in the anterior section, and if there is one, it rises only slightly above the upper edge of the lacrimal bone. The anterior superior premolar (P3) occupies an intermediate position in relative size between those of the boibak and tarbagan; the trace of the fusion of the posterior roots of the lower premolar (P4) is clearly visible, and in approximately 10% of individuals the root is bifurcated from below. 
Characteristics that make it possible to distinguish between animals from populations transitional between the gray marmot and boibak are indicated in the description of the latter.
Fossil remains of Pleistocene age are known from the Priobsky plateau, from the foothills Kuznetsk Alatau, and later ones from the Altai caves.
Spreading.
From the alpine meadows and syrts of the Tien Shan, South. and South-West. Altai north to the Center and East steppes. Kazakhstan and the forest-steppe of the West. Siberia. In the east, the range covers the Kazakh small hills (about the border with the boibak, see above, p. 140), the Akchatau, Chingiztau, Tarbagatai, Saur and Kalbinsky Altai ridges, including the. Sementau. In Altai itself - to the southern ends of Lake Teletskoye, Naryn and Kuchumsky ridges. Isolated in the West. Sayan, Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, as well as in the environs. Novosibirsk. These modern isolates represent parts of a former vast continuous area of the species' range in Central (Yenisei) Siberia, the degradation of which occurred most intensively during the second half of the Holocene. In the south of the ridge. Kokshaltau in the southern Tien Shan to the ridges of southern Altai; along its entire length it crosses the border with China, as well as the western part of Mongolia, approximately to the longitude of Kobdo. The range touches and partly overlaps the range of the tarbagan, but in the latter case there is a landscape-biotopic separation of both species. In the territory former USSR this was noted in the southwestern part of the Tuva Basin, in the area of \u200b\u200bLake. Kendyktykul, in the upper reaches of the Chulyshman, Bolshoy and Maly Aksug rivers (tributaries of the Alesh River), as well as along the middle reaches of the river. Shuya (tributary of the Barlyk river). In Mongolia, an area of overlapping ranges is known on the southeastern slope of the central part of the Mongolian Altai. Here, along the spurs of this ridge, in the upper reaches of the river. Buyant and in the area of the left tributaries of the river. Bulgan-gol there are also hybrid individuals known among Mongolian hunters under the name “yellow marmot”. On the southwestern border of its range, on the Fergana Range, the gray marmot lives adjacent to the red one, including in the bass. R. Arpa, at the junction with the ridge. Jamantau. Hybrid individuals were noted on the western slope of the first of them (the upper reaches of the Alayku River). An attempt to acclimatize gray marmots in the Gunib region of Dagestan was unsuccessful, and last years There was no information about surviving animals.
Lifestyle and meaning for a person.
From the West Siberian forest and meadow steppe along the slopes of ravines and river terraces, low steppe uplands of the Kazakh Highlands, to the highlands, including the Alpine belt, the cold Center desert. Tien Shan at altitudes up to 4000 m above sea level. m. and alpine xerophytic tundra of Altai. In recent decades, due to the general degradation of glaciers and the steppeification of vacated areas, marmots have been moving into the highlands (Central Tien Shan). Less significant altitudinal variations in distribution are also known for short climate cycles. The highest population density (up to several hundred animals per 1 km2) occurs in the alpine highlands, the lowest in the cold desert region of the latter. Apparently, the conditions of the mountain steppe should be considered optimal, where in places inaccessible to humans they still reach significant numbers. In mountains with a pronounced forest belt, it settles in clearings along its upper border and among the bushes bordering it. In the Tomsk forest-steppe it definitely avoids meadow areas, settling on steppe areas.
Seasonal and daily activity, like other mountain species, significantly depends on the height of the terrain, slope exposure and weather conditions. The timing of hibernation and awakening can even differ in one area of the range by 20 days. and more depending on the slope exposure. In places where animals are pursued or disturbed by people (for example, when grazing), their usual two-phase activity - morning and evening - is sharply disrupted until they switch to feeding at night. The general mosaic of living conditions in the mountains is also associated with the uneven distribution of settlements. Like other mountain marmots, there are diffuse, band (along river beds and valleys) and focal types. The latter is common in high mountains, where conditions favorable for living are found in individual, usually small, areas. In turn, within these three types of settlements, a distinction is made between their constituent stable (favorable) and unstable family plots. Of primary importance for the formation of settlements is the presence of a layer of fine earth, thick enough for digging wintering burrows. In conditions of highly dissected alpine relief, it most often accumulates in the area of alluvial fans and mouth parts of gorges, as well as in the lower parts of their slopes and the slopes of glacial cirques, which turn out to be the most populated. However, the animals avoid the valley pebble fields everywhere. On the other hand, the presence or absence of a colony depends on the depth of permafrost (in the Tien Shan - everywhere above 3300 m), as well as on the characteristics of the distribution of snow cover. Near the melting snow patches, the animals find fresh and juicy food throughout the entire active season, eating plants or parts thereof that are in the initial stages of the growing season. At the same time, marmots often hibernate on slopes, where snow cover sets in early and melts late. In this case, the awakening animals not only have to break through a 1.5-2-meter layer of snow, but also, after awakening, move into summer or temporary burrows located near warming areas, already devoid of snow and covered with green grass. In foothill and low-mountain areas, food migrations are also determined by the progress of vegetation burning.
Compared to the burrows of lowland marmots, permanent burrows (especially wintering ones) are significantly more complex, but, in general, they are somewhat simpler than those of the mountain long-tailed marmot. In addition, as with other mountain species, the earthen mound at the entrance - "butane" is usually weakly expressed; the thrown soil is easily carried down the slope. Often at the entrance there is a small trampled area on which the animal emerging from the hole is placed. “Observation points” are often located on stones and rocks adjacent to the hole. For the winter, the gray marmot clogs with earthen “plugs” not the entrance holes of the burrow, but the passages leading to the nest at a distance of 1.5-2 m from the latter. There are up to three nesting chambers in one wintering hole, but their volume is less than that of lowland forms. Family plots are usually small, on average 0.5 hectares (Dzungarian Alatau, 2900 m above sea level).
The gray marmot, apparently, has a more pronounced need for feeding on succulent plant foods than the lowland species: they eat mainly leaves, flowers and young shoots. The change of feed is determined mainly by the growing season of certain species in different parts of the feeding area. In early spring, marmots eat last year's grass and use up the remaining fat accumulated since the fall. Animal food is eaten constantly, but, with the exception of the dry period in the lowlands, only in large quantities. Like other species, it produces 1 brood per year. The rut occurs in the spring after awakening; in the highlands, apparently, even before leaving the burrows. The number of young in the litter for the Tien Shan is 5-6, for Altai - 2-4. Sexual maturity in most individuals occurs in the third year of life, and may be inversely related to the duration of the active period. The mortality rate of young animals is high and can reach 70%.
In the mountainous regions of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan it retains commercial importance, but is severely exterminated everywhere, especially in the foothills. In Karaganda region. and in Kyrgyzstan, in a number of cases, local reacclimatization has already been carried out, as well as resettlement from plowing areas to virgin lands, which turned out to be very effective. The meat is edible, the fat is suitable for technical purposes and is widely used in folk medicine. A natural carrier of the plague pathogen, supporting the existence of its foci in the Srednaya mountains. Asia, Altai and Tuva.
Geographical variability and subspecies.
The size increases with the altitude of the area, and in mountainous areas, apparently, also to the east. In the southeastern parts of the range, black tones in the color of the upperparts are more developed, replacing brownish ones.
Forms at least 5 poorly differentiated subspecies, 1 of which is outside the territory under consideration. At the same time, a number of characteristics that characterize them collectively repeat the specific characteristics of some plains marmots of the North. Eurasia.
1. M. b. baibacina Kastschenko, 1899. Top surface and cheeks are dark brown, including the area of the labial whiskers. Distribution: Altai, Saur, Tarbagatai, Kazakh small hills. Marmots of this latter are sometimes classified as an independent subspecies - M. b. aphanasievi Kuznetsov, 1965.
2. M. b. kastschenkoi Stroganov et Yudin, 1956. Close to the previous one, but somewhat smaller and lighter in color. Distribution: foothill steppe of Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions. and Altai region
3. M. b. ognevi Skalon, 1950. In terms of size and color intensity, it occupies an intermediate position between both previous subspecies. Distribution: highlands of western Altai.
4. M. b. centralis Thomas, 1909. The color of the upperparts is black, only in early spring specimens with a faint brownish tint. The area of the labial vibrissae is light, sometimes with only a slight reddish tint. Distribution: Tien Shan. The marmots of the Dzungarian Alatau may belong to a new, as yet undescribed form.
Features and habitat of the marmot
Marmot (from Latin Marmota) is quite large mammal from the squirrel family, order of rodents.
Homeland animal marmots is North America, from there they spread to Europe and Asia, and now there are about 15 main species:
Gray, also known as Mountain Asian or Altai marmot(from the Latin baibacina) - habitat of the Altai, Sayan and Tien Shan mountains, Eastern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia (Tomsk, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions);
Baibak aka Babak or common steppe marmot (from the Latin bobak) - inhabits the steppe regions of the Eurasian continent;
Forest-steppe, also known as the Kashchenko marmot (kastschenkoi) - lives in the Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions on the right bank of the Ob;
Alaskan aka Bauer's marmot (broweri) - lives in the largest state of the USA - in the north of Alaska;
In the photo there is a bobak marmot
Gray-haired (from Latin caligata) - prefers to live in mountain systems North America in the northern states of the USA and Canada;
Black-capped (from the Latin camtschatica) - divided into subspecies according to regions of residence:
Severobaikalsky;
Leno-Kolyma;
Kamchatsky;
The long-tailed red one or Geoffrey's marmot (from the Latin caudata Geoffroy) - prefers to settle in the southern part of Central Asia, but is also found in Afghanistan and northern India;
Pictured are alpine marmots
Yellow-bellied (from the Latin flaviventris) - habitat is the west of Canada and the United States of America;
Himalayan or Tibetan marmot (from the Latin himalayana) - as the name itself suggests, this species of marmot lives in the mountain systems of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau at altitudes up to the snow line;
Alpine (from the Latin marmota) – the habitat of this type of rodent is the Alps;
Menzbier's marmot, also known as the Talas marmot (from the Latin menzbieri), is common in the western part of the Tan Shan Mountains;
Forest (monax) - inhabits the central and northeastern lands of the United States;
Mongolian aka Tarbagan or Siberian marmot (from the Latin sibirica) - common in the territories of Mongolia, northern China, in our country lives in Transbaikalia and Tuva;
Olympic marmot (from the Latin olympus) - habitat - the Olympic Mountains, which are located in the north-west of North America in the state of Washington USA;
Vancouver (from the Latin vancouverensis) - its habitat is small and located on the west coast of Canada, on Vancouver Island.
You can give description of the animal marmot like a rodent mammal on four short legs, with a small, slightly elongated head and a voluminous body ending in a tail. In the mouth they have large, powerful and rather long teeth.
As mentioned above, a groundhog is quite large rodent. The smallest species is the Menzbier marmot, with a carcass length of 40-50 cm and a weight of about 2.5-3 kg.
The largest is animal of the steppes marmot forest-steppe - its body size can reach 70-75 cm, with a carcass weight of up to 12 kg.
The color of the fur of this animal varies depending on the species, but the predominant colors are gray-yellow and gray-brown.
Externally, in body shape and coloring, they are animals similar to marmots, only unlike the latter, they are slightly smaller in size.
Character and lifestyle of the marmot
Marmots are rodents that hibernate in the autumn-spring period, which can last up to seven months in some species.
While awake, these mammals are diurnal and are constantly in search of food, which they need in large quantities for hibernation.
Marmots live in burrows that they dig for themselves. They hibernate in them and stay there all winter, part of autumn and spring.
Most species of marmots live in small colonies. All species live in families in which there is one male and several females (usually two to four). Marmots communicate with each other using short calls.
IN Lately, with people's desire to have unusual animals at home, such as cats and dogs, the groundhog became a pet many nature lovers.
At their core, these rodents are very intelligent and do not require much effort to maintain. They are not picky about their diet and do not have smelly excrement.
And for their maintenance there is only one special condition - they must be put into hibernation artificially.
Groundhog food
The main diet of marmots is plant food(roots, plants, flowers, seeds, berries and so on).
Some species, such as the yellow-bellied marmot, eat insects such as locusts, caterpillars and even bird eggs. An adult marmot consumes about one kilogram of food per day.
During the season from spring to autumn, a groundhog needs to eat enough food to gain fat layer, which will support his body during the entire winter hibernation.
Some species, for example, the Olympic marmot, gain fat for hibernation more than half of their total body weight, approximately 52-53%, which is 3.2-3.5 kilograms.
Can see photo of marmot animals With the fat gained in winter, this rodent in the fall has the appearance of a fat dog of the breed.
Reproduction and life expectancy of the marmot
Sexual maturity of most species occurs in the second year of life. The rut occurs in early spring, after emerging from hibernation, usually in April-May.
The female bears the offspring for a month, after which offspring in the amount of two to six individuals are born.
Over the next month or two, the little marmots feed on their mother's milk, and then begin to gradually emerge from the hole and eat vegetation.
In the photo there are baby marmots
Upon reaching sexual maturity, the cubs leave their parents and start their own family, usually remaining in the common colony.
In conditions wildlife Marmots can live up to twenty years. At home, their life expectancy is much shorter and depends very much on artificial hibernation; without it, an animal in an apartment is unlikely to live more than five years.
Body length 50-65 cm, tail 12-22 cm.
The belly is brownish-red, the tail without a dark tip, the lips are light. It lives in the treeless mountains of Altai and Western Sayan, in the hilly steppes of the Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, in the vicinity of Novosibirsk, in the Salair Ridge. Introduced to the Gunib plateau in Dagestan, but practically exterminated there local residents. Inhabits the slopes of hills, ravines, river terraces, and mountain slopes. It adheres to grass-forb and wormwood steppes and meadows, the edges of island forests, alpine meadows up to the mountain tundra belt. It is also found in rocks, among stone placers, along the outskirts of high-mountain swamps, up to an altitude of 4000 m above sea level. In the mountains it often settles on the northern slopes, in the foothills - on the southern and southwestern ones. Hibernation lasts from September to March-April, young ones appear on the surface in mid-June. In recent years, it has become rare almost everywhere, and in some places has disappeared completely. Hunting is prohibited.
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Encyclopedia of Russian nature. - M.: ABF. V.L. Dinets, E.V. Rothschild. 1998 . See what "Grey Marmot" is in other dictionaries:Gray marmot- ? Gray marmot Scientific ... Wikipedia gray marmot- pilkasis švilpikas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Marmota baibacina vok. altaisches Murmeltier rus. Altai marmot; mountain Asian marmot; gray marmot ryšiai: platesnis terminas – švilpikai… Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas Marmota bobac see also 11.3.4. Genus Marmot Marmota Stepnoy Marmot marmot bobac (Table 43) Body length 49-58 cm, tail 12-18 cm. The color is uniform, the top of the head is slightly darker. The end of the tail is dark, the lips are light. Previously lived in all steppes from ... Animals of Russia. Directory Marmota camtschatica see also 11.3.4. Genus Marmot Marmota Black-capped marmot Marmota camtschatica (Table 43) Body length 39 54 cm. The color is dark, the black cap extends to the back of the head, the belly is red, the lips are dark. Lives in the mountains of Yakutia,... ... Animals of Russia. Directory Marmota sibirica see also 11.3.4. Genus Marmot Marmota Mongolian marmot Marmota sibirica (a plague that sometimes infects hunters when cutting up carcasses. Local name tarbagan. Table 43 Table 43 211 steppe marmot (211a in spring, 211b... ... Animals of Russia. Directory |
