It´s marmot day in Hintertux
It´s marmot day in Hintertux
At the end of April/beginning of May the time has come, the marmot awakes from its winter sleep and it is marmot season in Hintertux. From far away we can already hear the shrill whistling of the small animals. But when we discover one of the marmots, it sits relaxed on a stone, enjoys the view and the sun, climbs up the cliffs on the sunny southern slope or searches for its favourite main source of food - herbaceous, dicotyledonous plants. These small creatures prefer to move at altitudes between 900 and 2,500 metres and occasionally add small insects to their diet.
We have summarized some more interesting facts about these small animals:
- Marmots mate after hibernation. After about 5 weeks of gestation the females expect their young in June.
- In summer the small animals build up a stock of grease in order to survive the several months long hibernation from October to the end of April/beginning of May.
- In Austria the marmot is also known as "Mankei", but there are other dialectal terms like "Murmel" or "Munggen".
A little marmot hiking tip: One of our favourite marmot hikes leads from Hintertux into the beautiful Weitental valley to the Tuxer Jochhaus and should not be missed during your next summer holiday in Hintertux!