Where's Roger?

Hard to believe this "bee-loud glade" is on one of the busiest corners in the whole city. It's where the Empress Hotel keeps its bees and is also home to Roger, the resident Yellow-bellied Marmot. How Roger arrived on the island (there are no native yellow-bellied Marmots here) and why he chose to live in the garden of the Empress Hotel are mysteries that are unlikely to be solved but he has been there on the corner of Government and Humboldt Streets since 2008. However, when I went there today he was not in evidence, no doubt napping during the heat of the day in his burrow. Click HERE to see some pics of him I took a few years ago.

Roger

Here is a Victoria resident who is very special for a several reasons. First, he's got what is arguably the classiest address in the city. He lives in a small rock garden on one corner of the block occupied by the Fairmont Empress Hotel on Victoria's Inner Harbour Causeway. He's been living there for four years. Secondly, like most of us, he's not a native of the city. In fact, he's probably the only Yellow-bellied Marmot on Vancouver Island. There are other marmots on the island but they are a different species. It's thought he may have hitched a ride here on a car or truck coming from the interior of the province or from Alberta. I've looked for Roger a number of times since I first heard about him but was only lucky enough to catch these photos on Sunday. Thanks to regular visitors Dean and Cheryl for alerting me to Roger's presence in our fair city and to Roger for posing so nicely.

Yellow Bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)

Here's a close relative of the ground squirrel featured in a recent post, the Yellow Bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris). This one was living on a rock slope with numerous family and friends and there were several Columbian Ground Squirrels living there too. This photograph was taken on a spectacular trip above the Similkameen Valley near the Apex Mountain Ski Resort. I have now returned to Victoria but will share a few more of my holiday pictures over the next few days.