Steppe Marmot

(Marmota bobac), a mammal of the genus Marmota in the order of rodents. The body reaches 60 cm in length. In the past the steppe marmot was widely distributed from the steppes of Hungary to Irtysh but was absent from the Crimea and Ciscaucasia. As the steppes were brought under cultivation and the steppe marmot was hunted too intensively, its numbers diminished sharply. In the European part of the USSR there are only a few small colonies, including those in sanctuaries. Hunting the steppe marmot is illegal.