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The Alpine Marmot is the third largest rodent native to central and southern Europe. As the name suggests, they live in alpine and sub-alpine meadows. They're around 20 centimeters tall at the shoulders and up to 50 centimeters long. They weigh between three to eight kilograms. Their diet consists mostly of leaves, flowers but also grain, worms and insects.

Alpine Marmots are excellent diggers and dig burrows to live in. They live in family consisting of the parents and their 10-20 offspring. They're very territorial, especially females. The offspring is very playful. One of the group will always be on guard-duty and warn others of dangers with a high-pitched scream, very similar to Prairie Dogs, which belong to the same family, the squirrels. In winter, the whole family hibernates in the large central chamber of the burrow, the den.

Want to know more about the Alpine Marmot? Check this reddit post!