(EXPLORE) Olympic Marmot Portrait (Marmota olympus) - Port Angeles, WA
This was the reason I visited the Olympic Peninsula because I wanted to see these endemic Olympic Marmots. I had never seen them before and they did not disappoint. It was fun watching them and listening to them whistle. The hike up to see them was beautiful at 5.2Km long an elevation gain of 650Ft to the top of Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge which sits at 5700Ft. At the top we had views of the Olympic Peninsula, The Strait of Juan de Fuca, Olympic Mountains and Victoria and Canada. The views of the Olympic Marmots and other wildlife and scenery was something special to see. I saw 6 Marmots on the hike and all of them were above 4000Ft. I saw adults and young and the young looked very different from the older ones as they had white faces and bellies. The one photographed here is an adult. I like their unique coat colour which has a lot of copper in it.
Olympic Marmots are endemic to the Olympic Peninsula and are not found anywhere else in the world. They are declining due to climate change and predation and have been intensely monitored since 2010. Olympic Marmots are the largest of all Marmots and show the greatest sexual dimorphism with the males being much larger than the females.
The Olympic marmot is the second-rarest North American marmot, behind the critically endangered Vancouver Island Marmot which I recently photographed.
This is the official endemic mammal of Washington State.
(EXPLORE) Olympic Marmot Portrait (Marmota olympus) - Port Angeles, WA
This was the reason I visited the Olympic Peninsula because I wanted to see these endemic Olympic Marmots. I had never seen them before and they did not disappoint. It was fun watching them and listening to them whistle. The hike up to see them was beautiful at 5.2Km long an elevation gain of 650Ft to the top of Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge which sits at 5700Ft. At the top we had views of the Olympic Peninsula, The Strait of Juan de Fuca, Olympic Mountains and Victoria and Canada. The views of the Olympic Marmots and other wildlife and scenery was something special to see. I saw 6 Marmots on the hike and all of them were above 4000Ft. I saw adults and young and the young looked very different from the older ones as they had white faces and bellies. The one photographed here is an adult. I like their unique coat colour which has a lot of copper in it.
Olympic Marmots are endemic to the Olympic Peninsula and are not found anywhere else in the world. They are declining due to climate change and predation and have been intensely monitored since 2010. Olympic Marmots are the largest of all Marmots and show the greatest sexual dimorphism with the males being much larger than the females.
The Olympic marmot is the second-rarest North American marmot, behind the critically endangered Vancouver Island Marmot which I recently photographed.
This is the official endemic mammal of Washington State.