Are these two alpine marmots waiting to hear news of spring from their distant American relative, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil? Truth be told, here in the snowy Eastern Alps of Austria, most marmots will likely sleep through Groundhog Day, which is celebrated in the United States and Canada each year on February 2. Alpine marmots hibernate for up to nine months a year in underground burrows, relying on fat reserves to stay alive. During this time, their heart rate lowers to 5 beats per minute and they breathe just 1 to 3 times per minute. Sleep well, little friends.
Alpine marmots at Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Leap day
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Feast of the Donkey
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Southern lights for Antarctica Day
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Happy World Laughter Day
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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
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Birds of a feather flocking together
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A tree amid the Tetons
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The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
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Marseille welcomes the Olympic torch
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A cliff-hanging complex of temples
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Keyholes to the kingdom
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Art and soul
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International Surfing Day
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Marshland, Gloucester, MA
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A wassailing we go
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A house of grand scale(s)
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Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
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St. Patricks Day
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Step into the dark
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In praise of the old…the very old
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Up on the glacier
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An opulent backdrop for a historic event
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Walk the line
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Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
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Bridge of Hillsborough County
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Defying gravity on a swing ride
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A towering view of the Pale Mountains
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A personal collection becomes an institution
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Australian baobab tree, Kimberley region, Western Australia
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Castle Frankenstein in Darmstadt, Germany