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The Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) is a rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It lives only in the U.S. state of Washington, at middle elevations on the Olympic Peninsula. About the size of a domestic cat, an adult weighs around 8 kg (18 lb) in summer. Its coat is brown all over with small whiter areas for most of the year, although the color changes with the season and with age. It has a wide head, small eyes and ears, stubby legs, and a long, bushy tail. Its sharp, rounded claws aid in digging burrows. It eats a variety of meadow flora, including the dry grasses that it uses as bedding in burrows. Its main predator is the coyote. Like its closest relatives, the hoary marmot and the Vancouver Island marmot, it hibernates seven to eight months a year. It is not endangered, and is protected by law in the Olympic National Park, which contains most of its habitat. Olympic marmots are social animals; they often engage in play fighting and use four different whistles to communicate. (Full article...)