Yellow Bellied Marmot Arrives at Lindsay Wildlife Hospital

It is not every day that a Yellow-bellied Marmot from Tahoe shows up on your doorstep! That is what happened to a family in the Oakland hills this past week.
It is highly unusual for a Marmot to be brought into Lindsay Wildlife let alone be found in the Bay Area since they are native to the Sierra Nevada Foothills. This little fellow was found cowering behind a pot on the patio of an Oakland home. The homeowner’s cat was following him, but thankfully he was not harmed. After efforts to feed the Marmot were unsuccessful, the rescuer brought the Marmot to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital.
The young Marmot was admitted to the hospital in good overall health. He was slightly dehydrated, had worn pads on his feet and thinned hair on his back, but Lindsay Wildlife’s Resident Veterinarian Dr. Guthrum Purdin said these symptoms were all expected from animal’s long journey.
“For whatever reason, Yellow-bellied Marmots like to go up into cars,” Purdin said. “They are diggers and they treat cars the same way as a nice, warm hole in the ground.”
It is not unusual for a Marmot to hitch a ride in the underside of a car. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a program to reintroduce Marmots and Chipmunks who are often displaced back into their natural habitat.On July 21, Lindsay’s Marmot was transferred to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc. that recently released another stowaway marmot back into the wild.

Lindsay Wildlife appreciates every animal rescuer who brings a hurt or lost wild animal to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital. This particular rescuer was even willing to drive the lost Marmot back to the Sierra Nevada area after treatment.
Caring animal rescuers are the reason Lindsay Wildlife is to treat more than  5,000 animals a year.  Please help us help them and consider a donation today.