Marmots!

I found a marmot colony by accident today. I was hoping to shoot some infrared this morning as the forecast was saying clearing skies but that never happened (until much later). But I stopped at the pond on my way home and walked down a footpath and I noticed the footpath continued along the water (instead of heading up to the bridge) so I went exploring that way and sure enough, the marmots were there in the rocks.

They blend in so well with the rocks that I didn't even notice them at first. Then I'd see their heads peaking up looking at me. They were pretty skittish but I stayed still several times waiting for them to come out and a few times they ventured out and said hi. The younglings were so cute as well! I had such a great time seeing and photographing them.

These were shot with the ef-m 55-200mm at f6.3. I was quite happy with the results!

Cute creatures. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting creatures…none to be found south of the Equator, thanks for sharing

Reminds me of otters. Look cute, but in group, they can ruin ones day. 😂. Especially if you are a competing animal.

Great shots.

I've always enjoyed seeing marmots and picas when hiking at higher elevations in Wyoming and Colorado. They holler at you!

Not bad for such "short" focal length! Good job!

Marmots aka rockchucks where I live(as well as other areas of the western US are considered a pest and being prolific breeders like other rodents , their numbers devastate crops . They are no friends to agriculture in an attempt to depopulate them , they are a popular target for sport hunters. They are a nice natural addition to places like the Tetons but you wouldn't want them living in your yard unless you wanted to take a pic of where your garden used to be.