Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/05/hiker-attacked-with-cuddles-from-a-wild-marmot.html
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And thus was born the terrible Alpine Weremot. On a full moon, you can hear it snort fearsomely while hunting the ridges for sweaty hikers.
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Impressive friendly incautiousness to be sure, yet we might also credit an endless thirst for salt in the alpine regions, and i’ll bet a lot of it was detected on that robust hiker’s face. (all sorts of stories of deer ‘feasting’ on any area where a hiker has just whizzed)
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Maybe the Marmot was taking advantage of an opportunity to lick salt from the hiker’s head.
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Sorry, but as a Dwarf Fortress player, I feel obliged to drop this one:
“My, what a Hoary Marmot!”
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The whistle pigs now have a taste for humans.
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“I never thought a marmot would lick my face,” said the supporter of the Marmots Lick My Face party.
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Thanks Popkin!
For the BBS…
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We have a closely related species (a groundhog) living under our shed. This spring we were shocked to see it take a baby robin in our yard. Turns out this is pretty common. I have a recording of it, and it’s simultaneously the most gruesome and cute thing you will ever see. Also, it only ate the head and left the rest of the body…
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Now that there is a truly Delightful Creature.
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I had no idea! We have groundhogs in our yard every year for the great annual mulberry harvest aka Purple Bird Shit Month. They are extremely timid so I’m surprised to learn of their occasionally carnivorous ways. Thanks for that mildly disturbing info!
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Similarly, I’ve seen squirrels feasting on dead birds.
Also, this guy is lucky he didn’t get bitten by the marmot. They’re cute, but they’re also wild animals.
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Ah, how adorable!
Later on…
They don’t even have to bite you to be dangerous…
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Zero surprises there.
I was going for the low hanging fruit on this one. We have marmots around here. They’re among the last things I’d want crawling all over me like that.
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Or sunscreen / moisturizer. My dog thinks my sunscreen is like delicious liquid candy
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The same site says catching a disease from a groundhog is unlikely - plague is probably the most risky. RMSF is tick-borne; ticks uncommon in the alpine and easily checked for. For cryptosporidium you need to consume water or food contaminated with their feces.
Not to say it’s a great idea to let a wild animal lick you, but these same diseases can be contracted from domestic pets. Hopefully this fellow washed and sanitized his face/hands immediately after.
I suspect this isn’t the first human this marmot has interacted with.
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It’s assuming you aren’t letting the marmot crawl all over you and lick you, which is a great way to get bodily fluids and fleas on you…
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