The Story of Marmot Pups

Name: Codi
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Chitral & Gilgit-Baltistan

Marmots are an extraordinary creature from the rodent family that live in burrows and fields in the high country and plateau in places such as Deosai National Park. Here naturalist Shams Uddin tells a beautiful story of his recent encounter with Marmot pups.

Oblivious to the lurking shadow of a brown bear, the marmot pups play in the meadows of Deosai, where grass bends under the weight of wildflowers and the wind hums through the plateau. They tumble, roll, and wrestle, their tiny squeaks echoing like laughter—innocent, carefree, untouched by the knowledge of danger—the brown bear.

But their mother knows. From her lookout on a rocky slope, she freezes, her sharp eyes narrowing as the distant figure of the predator prowls. A shiver of fear runs through her body, yet it is laced with the fierce determination of a guardian. She cannot—she will not—allow her young to pay the price of their naivety.

With sudden speed, the mother marmot darts across the slope, claws scraping stone, heart pounding louder than the rushing wind. Her voice cuts through the meadow like a warning bell:

You reckless children! Stop this nonsense at once. Into the burrow—hurry! The earth is your shield, your only safety. Do not invite danger in the open fields!”

Marmot pups, Deosai, Northern Pakistan.

Shams Uddin

Shams Uddin in a wildlife guide and protector from Chitral valley, northern Pakistan.

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With sudden speed, the mother marmot darts across the slope, claws scraping stone, heart pounding louder than the rushing wind. Her voice cuts through the meadow like a warning bell:

You reckless children! Stop this nonsense at once. Into the burrow—hurry! The earth is your shield, your only safety. Do not invite danger in the open fields!”

Marmot pups, Deosai, Northern Pakistan.