Marmots hitch rides to Bay Area, get released at 7,800 ft near Tahoe
Two yellow-bellied marmots were discovered in the San Francisco Bay Area after likely hitching rides in vehicle undercarriages from the Sierra Nevada mountains. Wildlife rescuers safely captured the confused animals and relocated them back to their natural high-altitude habitat near Lake Tahoe.
Why it matters
This unusual wildlife incident highlights the risks posed to mountain animals by urban transport and the importance of specialized wildlife rescue organizations.
Yellow-bellied marmots usually live high in the mountains, but two of the large rodents recently turned up far from their usual habitat in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. One was found in San Francisco’s Mission District on September 5, while another was later spotted in Antioch, about 45 miles northeast of the city.Wildlife rescuers believe the two animals may have reached the Bay Area by hiding in vehicles travelling down from mountainous areas. The exact origin of either marmot was not immediately clear, but Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue suspected they may have travelled from Tahoe or another part of the Sierra Nevada, according to Smithsonian Magazine.The first marmot was discovered after San Francisco Animal Care and Control began receiving calls from residents in the Mission District. Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue then stepped in to help capture the animal.
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