| Location: |
South Dakota, Black Hills, Iron Creek Lake |
| Date: |
2010JUN03 to 2010JUN07 |
| Observer: |
Peter Leitheiser |
| Summary: |
Black Hills Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris dacota) |
The Black Hills, an "island of pine trees in a sea of grass," is a dome that was long ago pushed higher than the surrounding prairie, and is now home to isolated populations of animals more commonly associated with the Rocky Mountains farther west.
Some of these animals are the Black Hills Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris dacota),
who build their dens in the rocky slopes of the hills.
Primiarily a herbavor, this guy spent most of the time outside his burrow eating the sparse grass,
and the rest sunning or resting on the rocks.
Unlike the skittish chipmunks, the marmot's movements were fewer and more deliberate.
I only saw him (or her) in the early morning and evening on the hills surrounding the lake.
Report and Photos by Peter Leitheiser