When first arriving in Michigan I asked many folks in the area if there was a chance of seeing fireflies so late in the season. The fantastical glowing insect is something I have never seen before. Unfortunately I was too late for fireflies but since then I have come across some other exciting (for me) animals.
Biking along the Kalamazoo River Trail one morning I saw ahead of me a furry creature shuffle off the path. It was a perplexing thing. It didn't move like a rabbit, wasn't the color or shape of a badger, and much too large to be a squirrel. After the perfectly healthy versions of the aforementioned creatures were ruled out I began to imagine deformed badgers or the worlds fattest tree squirrel.
Upon reaching the area where my furry mystery scuttled away I failed to find it in the underbrush. I shrugged off the mystery and continued down the path when all of a sudden an animal like a marmot scuttled down a tree to hide after being startled by my passing. I was just as startled to see a marmot-like creature in a tree. It was the same thing I saw scuttle away earlier. Does Michigan even have marmots? Marmots in Washington all live in rocky or mountainous regions. Kalamazoo is neither.
Biking along the Kalamazoo River Trail one morning I saw ahead of me a furry creature shuffle off the path. It was a perplexing thing. It didn't move like a rabbit, wasn't the color or shape of a badger, and much too large to be a squirrel. After the perfectly healthy versions of the aforementioned creatures were ruled out I began to imagine deformed badgers or the worlds fattest tree squirrel.
Upon reaching the area where my furry mystery scuttled away I failed to find it in the underbrush. I shrugged off the mystery and continued down the path when all of a sudden an animal like a marmot scuttled down a tree to hide after being startled by my passing. I was just as startled to see a marmot-like creature in a tree. It was the same thing I saw scuttle away earlier. Does Michigan even have marmots? Marmots in Washington all live in rocky or mountainous regions. Kalamazoo is neither.
Hoary marmot, native to the Pacific Northwest. (Source:Wikipedia)
Using the power of the internet I researched marmots in Michigan. It turns out a member of the marmot family does reside in Michigan. My mystery marmot is more commonly known as a groundhog, woodchuck, or colloquially as whistle pig.
Groundhogs are smaller than the marmots we have in the PNW but they have much the same shape. (Source: Wikipedia)
The term "whistle pig" comes from the high pitched sound groundhogs and other marmot species produce when frightened. Fun fact: Whistler, British Columbia, Canada is named after the whistling sound of the local marmots.
I was quite pleased with my groundhog sighting but the new animals didn't stop there. On my return trip I nearly ran over a box tortoise!
Called box tortoise for their ability to completely hide their limbs within their shell.
And they even have such cute little tails!
So cute!
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