* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
The young groundhogs play and hug each other under the watchful eye of their mother or father in these images that I have captured for La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.
I was able to capture this endearing scene in photo and video on the slope of Tossa d’Alp, between Berguedà and Cerdanya, on this mountain of 2535 meters of altitude.
This peak is known as the Pedró dels Quatre Batlles, as the municipalities of Alp, Urús, Das de La Cerdanya and Bagà of the Berguedà region meet at the top.
In the images you can see how the young marmots play under the gaze of their father or mother, always attentive, in case there is any danger.
Groundhogs are large rodents, the heaviest members of the squirrel family, with enlarged claws well adapted for digging tunnels where they winter for about seven months. With spring advanced they have been out of the burrows for days.
Groundhogs prefer an open habitat that allows them to spot predators from a distance and run for cover. They live in a family structure. A family can have between 10 and 20 offspring, which live with their parents until maturity.
Groundhogs enjoy socializing with each other. Regardless of age, they groom each other and greet each other by rubbing noses. Of course, although they are sociable with other members of the family, they tend to be very ferocious against predators and other strangers that invade their territory.
