It is found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe,[2] at heights between 800 and 3,200 m (2,600–10,500 ft) in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras and Northern Apennines.

[3] The alpine marmot originates as an animal of Pleistocene cold steppe, exquisitely adapted to this ice-age climate.

As such, alpine marmots are excellent diggers, able to penetrate soil that even a pickaxe would have difficulty with, and spend up to nine months per year in hibernation.

It could not rebuild its genetic diversity ever since, as its lifestyle adapted to the Ice Age climate slowed its rate of genomic evolution.

They have also been introduced elsewhere with sub-populations in the Pyrenees, France's Massif Central, Jura, Vosges, Black Forest, Apennine Mountains, and the Romanian Carpathians.

When the weather is suitable, they will consume large amounts of food in order to create a layer of fat on their body, enabling them to survive their long hibernation period.

Alpine marmots are very defensive against intruders, and will warn them off using intimidating behavior, such as beating of the tail and chattering of the teeth, and by marking their territory with their scent.

The weaning period takes a further forty days, during which time the mother will leave the young in the burrow while she searches for food.

Their fur becomes the same colour as adult alpine marmots by the end of the summer, and after two years they will have reached their full size.

[12] As the summer begins to end, alpine marmots will gather old stems in their burrows in order to serve as bedding for their impending hibernation, which can start as early as October.

Their body temperature will drop to almost the same as the air around them, although their heart and breathing rates will speed up if the environment approaches freezing point.

[4] Alpine marmots were once widely hunted for food and because their fat is believed to ease rheumatism when rubbed on the skin.