On the ecology of the Doppelmayer`s Black-capped marmot (Marmota camtschatica doppelmayeri Birula, 1922): Kodar Mountain Ridge, Transbaikalia, Russia

Abstract

The Doppelmayer’s subspecies of the black-capped marmot, listed in the Red Book of Russia, inhabit mountain ranges in the north of the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Buryatia, the Zabaykalsky Krai and the south of the Republic of Sakha. Data on modern distribution and abundance of the subspecies in various parts of the range is scarce. In the Zabaykalsky Krai, the highest density of the black-capped marmot is characteristic of the Kodar Ridge. In 2019–2022, field studies were carried out annually in the high-mountain zone of the central part of the Kodar Ridge in the basin of the river Middle Sakukan. We counted the number of families of the black-capped marmot, simultaneously studying the ecology of the species. On an area of 10.8 thousand ha, 74–95 marmot families were found. In one of the sites, the density reached 16–18 families / 1000 ha, with an average density on other sites of 4–6 families. The high density for this species, in our opinion, is associated with a decrease, and after the creation of the Kodar National Park, with a complete cessation of human hunting for marmots in the basin of Middle Sakukan. The article discusses some interesting features of the black-capped marmot of the Kodar Ridge. Animals often settle in the near-top part of the ridges; sometimes they dry grass for bedding before dragging it into a hole; they were also found to lick coal seams, probably using them as mineral nutrition.