Black-capped marmots live in the cold and somewhat hostile alpine areas of eastern Siberia and Kamchatka. Their closest relatives are probably the Alaska marmot, found in the Brooks Range. Black-capped marmots currently live in three very isolated and spatially distinct populations. A common feature in all habitats is the plethora of rocks and dearth of vegetation. They are only active about three and a half months each year and they mature slowly. Dispersers wait for at least three years before they leave their natal group. Average litter sizes are around four, and sex ratios are a bit male-biased. Black-capped marmots have at least one alarm call, this one was recorded from the Kamchatka Peninsula by T. Lisitsyna and Aleksandr Nikolskiy. Black-capped marmots and hoary marmots are the only two species occasionally found on cliff bands above the sea. |
