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Look! Mud! Why are Kevin and Shayn so excited about mud? Because this mud is plugging the entrance to a marmot burrow in Strathcona Provincial Park.

As they enter hibernation, marmots plug the entrances to their burrows with mud and grasses, creating a barrier against the cold, wet, and snow that will quickly accumulate over winter. From now until next May these marmots will stay underground in a state of torpor – a kind of super sleep where their heart rate and breathing drop, and even their body temperature falls to about 4O C.

During that time, the marmots will barely stir. Every couple weeks, they will warm up a small amount and perhaps retire briefly to another chamber of their burrow for a bathroom break. Then they will quickly return to deep torpor.

When they emerge from hibernation in the spring, the marmots will have consumed about 30% of the only food they have – their own body.  Most of that energy is used to come out of torpor and prepare themselves for the active season ahead.

For pups entering hibernation for the first time, this will be a major test. They have had less time to add body mass, and of course have been busy growing at the same time. Hibernating with their parents helps – Mom and Dad (and possibly other older marmots) help to stabilize hibernation for these inexperienced pups.

Not everyone is in hibernation just yet. As usual, more northern and higher elevation colonies are entering hibernation earlier. But even in the same colony, some families will go underground at different times. This may be driven by differences in genetics, body condition, or the composition of the group hibernating together.