MARMOTS- ELUSIVE HERMIT PICTURED IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

By Our Wildlife Correspondent

Furry, small and cute, Marmots are nowadays an internet sensation. But few know that these funny creatures with sparkling eyes and quick movements are found across   Himalayas and even recently photographed in Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan  Marmots are rare ground squirrel species previously sighted in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. Although there were reports of sightings in Arunachal Pradesh, there were no images. Hiranmoy Chetia, a PhD scholar of Noida’s Amity University, has been studying this species for the past four years. His study has been published in The Journal of Threatened Taxa.

The “Marmota Himalayan” is one of the largest among the marmots, about the size of a house cat. It has dense, woolly fur, which is rufous grey on the back and rufous yellowish on ears, belly and limbs. The mammalian family of Sciuridae includes squirrel species adapted to different habitats. Based on their adaptations,  they are classified as tree squirrels, gliding squirrels, and ground squirrels. The particular tribe Marmot , which includes the burrow- dwelling ground species, has 13 genera comprising 95 species.

Chetia  observed  that the marmots  did  not like to venture out in gloomy weather, but spent most of their time foraging, grooming, and playing when the weather was clear. The Himalayan Marmot is locally known as the ‘Gomchen Chikpa’ (Gomchen meaning hermit) in the Dirang Monpa language. They are not seen  during the winters as they hibernate, they are thought to be meditating in the burrows, like a hermit. As the inhabitants of the region predominantly follow Tibetan Buddhism, they usually do not hunt the little animal.

Marmot’s keen eyes scan the horizon, ever watchful  and  aware of predators that may encroach, for dangers in the rarefied air. It blows a shrill whistle alerting others about the imminent threats and hurries to the burrow for safety.