The next occurence will be on February 2nd, 2025. The last occurence was on February 2nd, 2024.

Marmot Day

Quick facts
When is it?	Every February 2nd
Tagged as:	Animals
What's the hashtag?	#MarmotDay
When was it founded?	1990s
Who founded it?	Alaska Senate
We first published this page on:	Dec 23rd, 2017
We last updated this page:	Oct 5th, 2024

Marmot Day is a celebration of marmots, a group of large squirrel-like animals that includes groundhogs, woodchucks and ground squirrels. Even though marmots are found all over the world, from Canada to Mexico and from Russia to India, these animals don’t seem to get the attention they deserve.

This day was established to raise awareness and bring them the attention they so deserve!

How to Celebrate Marmot Day

Show some love to these funny, furry little animals by celebrating Marmot Day in a variety of ways, with ideas like these:

Visit a Marmot Day Festival

Perhaps it would be fun to take Marmot Day as an inspiration to visit the northernmost of the United States – Alaska! Of course, February may not be the warmest of times to visit, but getting some first hand experience with the marmot might just be worth it.

Or, for those who are a bit more inclined to stay in the lower 48, make plans to head on over to the Marmot Day festival that takes place in Michigan on July 25. The day’s activities include a variety of fun-making events for the whole family, with a nod to this furry little creature in most everything they do!

Go Marmot Watching

Want to celebrate Marmot Day, but can’t make it to Alaska or Michigan? No problem. Those who live near marmot habitats, can make a special trip to go marmot watching, but be sure to plan it at the right time. Since around 80% of a marmot’s life is spent underground, they can be a little hard to spot – especially during the winter months.

It seems one of the best places in the US where marmots tend to be easiest to find are in Washington State, near Mt. Rainier National Park or Hurricane Ridge of Olympic National Park. Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park in California are also places to look for marmots, although here they tend to act as pests!

Learn More About Marmots

While those who live in areas inhabited by marmots might know all about them, folks from other parts of the country might just be learning about this unique creature. Spend some time in honor of Marmot Day getting more educated about these interesting little guys.

Check out and share some of these fun facts in honor of the day:

Marmots make high-pitched whistling sounds when they are feeling threatened. In fact, in Quebec, they are known as the “siffleux” which means “whistlers”.
Marmots are technically large ground squirrels with 15 different species living in Asia, Europe and North America.
Marmots are herbivores who prefer a diet of plants, grass, seeds and small shrubs.
Marmots tend to be active from March to September and then hibernate the rest of the year, which means approximately 60% of their life is spent hibernating!

History of Marmot Day

Marmot Day can trace its beginnings back to the 1990s when it was proposed as a bill in the Alaska State Senate. Because marmots are creatures that are particularly prolific in the state of Alaska, the idea was to draw attention to this animal as it represents some of Alaska’s folk values. Sponsored by state legislator Curtis Menard, the bill took some time to be passed, but was eventually signed into law by Governor Sarah Palin.

Since its passing by legislature, Marmot Day is an official holiday in the state of Alaska. Festivities tend to take many different forms, typically involving a family dinner or gathering of some sort where marmot jokes and anecdotes are shared!

A related day, but celebrated in the summer instead, is the annual event of Marmot Day that has taken place in Owosso, Michigan since 2002. In this case, the day acts as a community festival and invites participants to celebrate with many fun family activities and even a marmot video contest!

Marmot Day