Found across the high ranges of Central and South Asia, from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Pamir, Karakoram, Tian Shan, and into western China and northwestern India. It favors open alpine meadows, rocky steppe, and scrubby slopes, often near boulders and low junipers. As its name promises, it’s the long-tailed specialist of the marmot world: the tail makes up roughly 37–55% of body length, proportionally longer than most marmots. Adults are chunky, with a flattened head, small ears, and a warm buff-to-orange coat that helps them blend with sun-baked turf and scree.

Despite that burly build, long-tailed marmots are daytime busybodies. They spend chilly mornings grazing herbs and grasses, then sit upright to scan the slope, trading between foraging and lookout duty. Socially, they’re unusual: pairs are often monogamous, yet several related adults may share a home range and network of burrows—think family compound rather than a single nuclear household. Communication is crisp: sharp whistles and rattling alarms race across the hillside the instant a fox, wolf, or golden eagle appears, and neighboring groups will answer back.

High mountains demand a tough seasonal strategy, and this marmot is a champion hibernator. Families retreat to deep, insulated burrows and can stay underground from about September to April or May, waking only when snow recedes and plants push new growth. Their burrow systems are more than shelters—they’re micro-engineered homes with multiple entrances, chambers, and, in winter, a sealed “plug” that helps hold warmer air inside. Even in summer, marmots spend long hours below ground, using the cool earth as a refuge from heat and predators before popping back up to feed.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Afghanistan

2017

China

2017

India

2017

Kazakhstan

2017

Presence Uncertain

Kyrgyzstan

2017

Pakistan

2017

Tajikistan

2017

Uzbekistan

2017

Presence Uncertain