Colorado marmot hitchhikes down from mountains and shows up in Longmont school parking lot

Some kids beg to go to the mountains. One marmot apparently wanted to see what school was all about. Staff and neighbors spotted a yellow-bellied marmot wandering the grounds of a school in Longmont. That’s a long way from the rocky alpine slopes these chunky critters normally call home.

So how does a mountain rodent end up on the Front Range? The likeliest answer is that it rode down in somebody’s car. Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Longmont says that happens more often than you’d think. Marmots like to tuck themselves into warm, sheltered spots, and a car’s engine compartment or the space around a wheel looks like a perfect hiding place. The driver heads home, the marmot comes along without a ticket, and the trip ends somewhere very un-marmot-like, such as a school parking lot.

Greenwood’s team got the marmot safely captured and checked it over. Once it was cleared, they drove it back to the high country and let it go. Picture the stories it took home: tall buildings, loud bells and a whole lot of tiny humans with backpacks. Marmots, nicknamed “whistle pigs” for the warning whistle they give off, probably have a lot to talk about up there.

There’s a lesson here for anyone headed into the hills. Before you drive home from a trailhead, especially a high one, pop the hood or take a quick look under the car for any furry passengers. Wildlife experts say a quick check can save an animal a scary ride and spare you a surprise visitor in the driveway. Some souvenirs are best left in the mountains.