Marmot

[Bountyhunter]

When I'm quite a ways back in, in Colorado, and getting close to Timberline, I run into these big groundhogs they call Marmots. I'm speaking of hunting or backpacking in the high Rockies. I never see them down low, but find them at 10,500 ft elevation or above. I have heard them called whistle pigs and other names. I see them frequently in the Sangre de Cristos by Crestone Needle, and also on Cottonwood Pass by Taylor Lake.

Is there a season on these Marmots? Anyone eat them, or are they like the porcupine, a survival food?

 

[rabjr]

Heard tell their fat is worth rendering for lube. :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

When I'm quite a ways back in, in Colorado, and getting close to Timberline, I run into these big groundhogs they call Marmots. I'm speaking of hunting or backpacking in the high Rockies. I never see them down low, but find them at 10,500 ft elevation or above. I have heard them called whistle pigs and other names. I see them frequently in the Sangre de Cristos by Crestone Needle, and also on Cottonwood Pass by Taylor Lake.

Is there a season on these Marmots? Anyone eat them, or are they like the porcupine, a survival food?

There are two species of marmot in the mountains of CO. There is the yellow bellied marmot which lives at lower as well as higher elevations and then there is the hoary marmot that lives up higher. They are in the ground hog family.

The live and nest in rockpiles rockfalls where there is easy access to low growing greenery. If the rocks are not big enough to offer openings for sanctuary they will not be there. The yellow bellied marmot lives more like a woodchuck and will dig it's own dens and tunnesl but also favors rocky areas. They like to be in the open where they can see well, or at least that's the how it seems to me.

They are edible just as a wood chuck is and they have heavy fat deposits like a wood chuck.

At one time there was no season but now in the past few years there is a season with a five per day bag limit. I think the season starts around 8/1 and runs into October.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The meat from the marmot, and ground hog, is fat, and sweet tasting, like Pork. That is why you see names like whistle PIG, or Ground HOG, or woodCHUCK, used to describe them. The fat can be rendered and the oil used for lubing patches. The skins make a good tough glove leather. The meat can be roasted, or baked, and can be ground up and made into a very fine sausage, that you and others will swear is pork sausage.

Each state sets its only game seasons, and determines what animals are varmints, or nuisance pest, that have no season or bag limit on them, and which other animals are to be protected with seasons, bag and possession limits.

If an animal is protected you generally will need a general hunting license, and possibly some kind of added tag on your license to hunt the animal. Its your responsibility to know what you can legally hunt, by contacting the state game departments. Most states now put all that information on their web sites, so you probably can answer this question with your own computer.

 

[bwhoffman]

good ol' rock chucks!
dispatched several hundred in my days in central oregon. mostly with 22 250, and other varmit guns.
most were 250yd or longer, but had opps to get in closer under 100.
you can wait them out in the rock piles as they are curious. would make good fare for a front stuffer!
have eaten it in the form of jerky but never as a full meal.
If you see one, there are probly 8 or more at a location. Have had some rock piles where I shot 100 +/- in a season.

 

[longcruise]

The thing about a marmot as table fare is they don't have much more meat on them than a fox squirrel. As big as they seem, they have lots of fat on em.

I once wrapped a fresh case skinned marmot hide on a thick pole and lit it in the campfire for a torch. It burned for nearly an hour!

 

[Greenmtnboy]

When I'm quite a ways back in, in Colorado, and getting close to Timberline, I run into these big groundhogs they call Marmots. I'm speaking of hunting or backpacking in the high Rockies. I never see them down low, but find them at 10,500 ft elevation or above. I have heard them called whistle pigs and other names. I see them frequently in the Sangre de Cristos by Crestone Needle, and also on Cottonwood Pass by Taylor Lake.

Is there a season on these Marmots? Anyone eat them, or are they like the porcupine, a survival food?

I kill two or three every fall around the first of sept to make a great tasting stew and to get the fat and render it down to oil for patch lube and leather dressing.
My patch lube is two to one Elk tallow to marmot oil.
My leather dressing recipt is two parts elk tallow marmot oil, one part bees wax one part neatsfoot oil.

:thumbsup:

 

[Bountyhunter]

Interesting, thanks.

I know that when I'm up in that area, I always see them, they just lay on the rocks and watch you go by. I have always thought I'd pop one with my pistol and try cooking it, but then there is something about living in Canon City for more than the weekend.

 

[Walks Alone]

Typical of the larger ground diggers, the younger marmots are the best eating. I've ate a few. They could be considered a survival food since they fall prey easy enough to deadfall traps and snares.

I'd say what you are seeing in CO is Yellow-bellied Marmots though, same as in UT and WY. The Hoary is larger, further north and west (MT, ID, WA & north). I doubt they have a bag or possession limit on them in CO. They didn't used to anyway. But I'd check to be sure since CO is becoming as liberal as CA.

I have spent a lot of very fine days shooting rock chucks over the years. Mostly on the rocky talus slopes in the lofty arctic/alpine habitats of the Rockies where shots are long to very long and commonly in strong swirling winds. But also in rock piles that border pastures in relatively low elevations. So the Yellow-bellied can be found from fairly low to the highest elevations in their preferred habitats. As suggested they live in colonies, so when you find one there will be others lurking near by. Leave some for seed though.

Something else you might do while up in the high environs”¦ starting just below tree line (subalpine) and lower you might look for a pika colony around rock slides on grassy slopes too. These little rock rabbits have the best fur for lining gloves, hats, collars, etc, especially if collected before their spring molt or after their fall one. At the highest elevations where summer is only a month long these molts overlap into just one. They have pretty small pelts so it takes a few of them even for a pair of gloves though.

 

[longcruise]

I'd say what you are seeing in CO is Yellow-bellied Marmots though, same as in UT and WY. The Hoary is larger, further north and west (MT, ID, WA & north). I doubt they have a bag or possession limit on them in CO.

Could be either. The Hoary marmot is found in CO but only at very high elevations. I've never seen a hoary below timberline.

There is a season, bag and possession limit as stated above in this topic.

you might look for a pika colony around rock slides on grassy slopes too. These little rock rabbits have the best fur for lining gloves, hats, collars, etc, especially if collected before their spring molt or after their fall one.

Well, CO does not mention the Pika specifically in the regs so that would mean that it is a protected species.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

The season starts the last week of Aug,
The reason they implimented a season in the first place is the lack of respect some folks give the marmot as a food sorce and just seem to have to blow the manure out of every thing that moves, thats the reason they implimented a season in the first place :bull: :nono: It suck when folk just have to kill every one of somthing to get their friggin rocks off, I was taught not kill unless you were eating it. Even when I ran a trap line in the 80's I would eather eat what I traped or feed it to my coon dogs.
Maby parts of CO has turned cally (Aspen, Crestedbutte etc..) but the rest of the state is still rual and I'm sure more than one good old boy would take offence of your compairson.
This is directed at walks alone not you Marmot slayer.

 

[Walks Alone]

Could be either. The Hoary marmot is found in CO but only at very high elevations. I've never seen a hoary below timberline.

Sorry, I have to totally disagree. Blame it on nearly 45 years as a pretty serious naturalist who has done extensive field work studying the life histories of flora and fauna (some of it published), especially of the montane, alpine and arctic environs of the Rocky Mountains. The range of the Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) is not listed as being that far south/east in any published source, nor is it listed as a naturally occurring CO species by the CO DOW itself. While it is true the Hoary marmot usually occurs at or above timberline where it is found further NW, it's also true that the Yellow-bellied occurs above timberline as well in its known range.

There is a season, bag and possession limit as stated above in this topic.

Saw that when I visited the CO DOW web site this morning. So they ARE considered a game animal in that state now (they were not years ago). Their regs are for the Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) only though. DOW does not list the Hoary Marmot in its regs OR in it’s state list of species either.

I was pretty certain about the marmot thing, but in the interest of not adding even more misinformation... I called and got it verified by the CO DOW's small game biologist Lance Carpenter in the Denver office. He ought to be considered an acceptable source by anyone on what species do/do not occur in CO. I have his direct number if you want to call him yourself.

So if you are truly seeing what really is Marmota caligata in CO, they were seeded there by man and it should be reported to the closest DOW office to their location. I did that almost 30 years ago when I came across a wolverine in a UT wilderness area. They had been listed as extinct in that state for decades. The DFG was glad I did, did a study that confirmed my sighting and added them into their management plan.

Well, CO does not mention the Pika specifically in the regs so that would mean that it is a protected species.

You're right about them being protected in that state. CO DOW does list the American Pika (Ochotona princeps) in the state, and considers them a non-game species that can not be hunted/trapped except under certain circumstances.


So we each ended up with one out of two right anyway. :wink:

 

[Walks Alone]

Maby parts of CO has turned cally (Aspen, Crestedbutte etc..) but the rest of the state is still rual and I'm sure more than one good old boy would take offence of your compairson.
This is directed at walks alone not you Marmot slayer.

CO has been in the limelight with liberal law changes more than the other RM states it seems to me, hence my comment. Residents there should take offense, and do something about it.

CA has a lot of non-liberal people as well, but they've sat on their laurels for decades and the libs have the upper hand now. They and their thinking is spreading into all of the western states and none of us are safe from them.

 

[longcruise]

Sorry, I have to totally disagree. Blame it on nearly 45 years. . . . . .

Gee, I gotta disagree too. Blame it on my personal sighting of a hoary at around 12,000 ft on Longs Peak. :blah:

The CO DOW is not unlike the Utah DOW, they don't always know what they have roaming the state until it's pointed out to their biologists! :wink: Not long ago it was pointed out to them that there are Ruffed Grouse in the NW corner of the state. *Gosh, we didn't know that!* Same thing with the black footed ferret. *Gee, we thought they were extinct.* Green Back Cutthroat Trout? *Holy cow, we found some!* (now it;s the state fish ) Wolverines? People see em but still not "proven" to the DOW.

Much of the process of inventorying the wildlife of the state is about budget and politics. Once the population is established, it's gotta be managed and that management becomes part of the budget. In the case of the Greenback, millions were spent recovering the species when some were found in a high headwater area. That's as it should be, but the DOW is not about to accept some species such as Wolverines without absolute proof because they don't want to have to engage in a major and expensive management plan for something they are not sure is there.

Once Ruffed Grouse were "found", the cry went up from bird hunters asking the DOW to engage in a stocking plan in other parts of the state. That's ok with me too, but the point is to show you how the system works. The Ruffed Grouse was one of those forgotten species that got no attention from anyone. I expect the Hoary Marmot fits that same category. It's one of those "yawn, who cares" scenarios.

Then there's all those Bigfoot sightings! :shocked2: If one of those is ever shot or caught and "proven" in CO, that baby is going to put a huge dent in the budget! :haha:

So we each ended up with one out of two right anyway.

Only until I provide Carpenter with a Hoary Marmot photo with recognizeable terrain in the background. :wink:

 

[pab1]

I would add grizzlies to that list too. The book Ghost Grizzlies by David Peterson & Doug Peacock has plenty of supporting evidence that grizzlies are still in Colorado. A few years back I asked a former game warden what he thought of the possibility of grizzlies existing in the state. He said when the state mentions them (they were listed in the regs for many years as being protected, along with wolverines) then they are around. Here is a link to the DOWs position on grizzlies.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/SpeciesOfConcern/Mammals/GrizzlyBear.htm

 

[paulvallandigham]

That must be how all the state game agencies operate. Studied ignorance.

Here in Illinois, we have had confirmed sightings of Black bear living in the Shawnee National Forest in Far Southern Illinois, for more than 20 year, but the State Dept. of Natural Resources only recognized that we have black bear living in the state a couple of years back, when pictures were printed in a local paper in Southern Illinois. A friend of mine found the tracks of a bear, and followed them to where the bear was denning in the remains of a stone foundation for an house long gone. He reported it to the Ranger at the Office for The Shawnee National Forest, up in Harrisburg, Il. and actually took the man down to show him both the tracks, and the backside of the black bear that you could see looking into the den. The ranger thanked him for bringing the information to his attention, and then asked him to keep it quiet so poachers would not be in killing the bear for its gall bladder, which could bring a lot of money being sold in Asia as an aphrodisiac. The next year, the Hunter Safety book, newly printed, continued to say there were no Black Bear in Illinois. None of the official records of the state indicated we had black bear, for years to come. Black Bears are now listed as protected, State Endangered Species animals, and cannot be hunted for any reason. Hey! It only took the state about 15 years to finally admit we have black bear living in Illinois!! :youcrazy: :rotf: :surrender: :thumbsup:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

CO has been in the limelight with liberal law changes more than the other RM states it seems to me, hence my comment. Residents there should take offense, and do something about it.

As a educated voter maby you can give me examples.
CO's politics are more like NV than CA.
Alltho NV has turned pritty hippy as of late with their Pot laws.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Paul,

The Fish and Game Nazis must all be related. WE have at least two cougar carcasses, plus several photographs of cougars in Kansas, but the Idjits at Pratt remain steadfast that cougars do not exist in Kansas.

They are all a bunch of inbred environwackos to my way of thinking. The "I have my mind made up, do not attempt to confuse me with any facts" crowd.

 

[paulvallandigham]

There are cougars living in several parts of Missouri, which I believe the state now acknowledges. Since Missouri is East of Kansas, maybe the Kansas folks will get around to admitting you have a few running wild in that state, too.

 

[Bountyhunter]

They are documented in every state around Kansas. We have one that passes through our back yard every so often. I am 90 miles from the corner of Kansas on the banks of the Canadian River. With the Arkansas and Cimmaron rivers feeding in from heavily infested cougar territory in New Mexico and Colorado, there isnt any doubt about it other than the Fish and Game zombies will not admit it.

The ranchers have been killing them for years. But since they dont exist, it is Shoot, Shovel and Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.