Young yellow-bellied marmots wrestle on a beach in Penticton.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ YOUTUBE
May 15, 2025 - 4:00 AM
South Okanagan nature lover and photographer Jodi Forster watched two young marmots play fighting along the Okanagan Lake waterfront in Penticton a few days ago and was able to grab some footage of the comical brawl.
The yellow-bellied marmots tumble and roll onto their backs to kick one another, or push each other down, often with funny facial expressions and their mouths hanging open.
The critters are highly sociable with one another. They will behave aggressively and chase and fight with each other, but also play with each other and display greeting behaviours, according to Animalia.
They spend most of the time out sunning themselves on the rocks.
Forster said dozens of the marmots hang out near the Penticton Marina, and are a joy to watch.
READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Courting grebes do bird ballet on Shuswap Lake
Marmots are large ground squirrels that spend most of the year hibernating in burrows but come out for spring and summer to mate and produce young.
There are several different species of marmots throughout Canada and the western United States that live where they can find warm, dry habitats with rocky areas to hide and burrow in.
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