MARMOTS SETTLE IN OR THE BIG SLEEP
IN America, northern Europe, and central Asia, mountain-dwelling marmots spend most of their time pported in hibernation. They sleep for up to nine months each year. By hibernating in winter, animals avoid futile foraging trips when nature's larder is bare. For most animals, this dormant period lasts for three to five months,
Where marmots live, however, winters can be hard and very long Rather than wake up prematurely, they sleep on until May or June, tucked away in long networks of underground burrows. They survive on fat reserves, which make up a fifth of their body weight. When summer finally arrives, marmots have to collect food, raise a family, and fatten up for their next hibernation, all within three months.
SUMMER HARVEST Marmots need to put on weight in summer because food is so scarce during their record. breaking hibernation.
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