The Tale of the Hitchhiking Marmot

New Mexico Wildlife Center

Yellow-bellied Marmot 22-459 was having a pretty normal summer day in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, and was pretty content to find a little dark, warm nook to settle into! Until all of a sudden….. that nook started moving! And kept moving for hours until it finally stopped in a very strange new place. This new place was dry, hot, and definitely not the mountains of Colorado! Luckily, some kind people discovered her soon after they arrived in Albuquerque, NM and realized she had accidentally hitched a ride.
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After her discovery, she was brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center in Albuquerque, and eventually transferred to New Mexico Wildlife Center where the wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarian performed a thorough exam, much to her dismay. They deemed her perfectly healthy, just a little lost, and set out to get her back to her home!

After reaching out to multiple people who could not make the long drive with the marmot, NMWC volunteers Tamara and Neill offered to help! On August 18, they packed up their car with the secured marmot and headed off to Colorado. After a long 5-hour drive, they made it back to the marmot’s territory and carefully moved the crate out of the car. Yellow-bellied Marmot 22-459 slowly exited the crate, took a look around, and scurried off back to her home! A very happy ending for everyone!
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Thank you so much to Tamara and Neill for taking so much time out of their days to help get our marmot friend back home! Neill was able to capture footage of the release, which you can see here.

Learn More about New Mexico's Wildlife Center online.