CreatureData

Hoary marmot

Marmota caligata (Eschscholtz, 1829)

LCLeast Concernrodents

The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 4.3 kg to 7.23 kg and live up to 12.1 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata)
Photo: Darren Obbard · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the hoary marmot

Weight
4.3 kg – 7.23 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
12.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
25 days – 30 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
4.6src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2.38 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the hoary marmot live?

Not recorded

What is the hoary marmot?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) is a species of marmot that inhabits the mountains of northwest North America. Hoary marmots live near the tree line on slopes with grasses and forbs to eat and rocky areas for cover.

It is the largest North American ground squirrel and is often nicknamed "the whistler" for its high-pitched warning issued to alert other members of the colony to possible danger. The animals are sometimes called "whistle pigs". Whistler, British Columbia, originally London Mountain because of its heavy fogs and rain, was renamed after these animals to help make it more marketable as a resort. The closest relatives of the species are the yellow-bellied, Olympic, and Vancouver Island marmots, although the exact relationships are unclear.

From the Wikipedia article “Hoary marmot” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hoary_marmot&oldid=1375360845), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the hoary marmot endangered?

The hoary marmot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the hoary marmot classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familySciuridae
  6. genusMarmota
  7. SpeciesMarmota caligata (Eschscholtz, 1829)

Synonyms Arctomys caligata, Marmotta caligata

Other names and names in other languages (20)
  • Montague island hoary marmotEnglish
  • Montague island hoary marmotEnglish
  • svišť brýlovýCzech
  • Nordamerikansk alpemurmeldyrDanish
  • Eisgraues MurmeltierGerman
  • Grauhaariges MurmeltierGerman
  • Γκρίζα ΜαρμόταGreek
  • marmota canosaSpanish
  • harmaamurmeliFinnish
  • marmotte des RocheusesFrench
  • Marmotta delle Montagne RoccioseItalian
  • シラガマーモットJapanese
  • GråmurmeldyrNorwegian Bokmål
  • Grijze MarmotDutch
  • świstak siwyPolish
  • Marmota-das-RochosasPortuguese
  • Седой сурокRussian
  • Alaska Körfezi MarmotuTurkish
  • Бабак сивийUkrainian
  • 蒙塔古島褐旱獺Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the hoary marmot

Other species in the same genus Marmota.

LC, Least Concern
Groundhog (Marmota monax)

Groundhog

Marmota monax

Sciuridae

CompareHoary marmot vs Alpine marmotHoary marmot vs GroundhogHoary marmot vs Bobak marmotHoary marmot vs Himalayan marmot

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the hoary marmot?

An adult hoary marmot weighs 4.3 kg – 7.23 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the hoary marmot endangered?

The hoary marmot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the hoary marmot live?

The hoary marmot has a recorded lifespan of 12.1 years.

How long is the hoary marmot pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 25 days – 30 days.

What kind of animal is the hoary marmot?

The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) belongs to the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-marmot

MLA

“Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-marmot.

BibTeX
@misc{hoary_marmot_2026,
  title = {Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-marmot},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}