Rockchucks/Yellow-Bellied Marmots/Whistle Pigs

Rockchucks have gotten a bad rap, but maybe they deserve it. These large (10-15 pound) furry rodents typically make their communal homes in rocky embankments and rock piles, hence their name. In Central Oregon, where there is an abundance of basalt outcroppings from ancient lava flows, the rockchucks thrive among the crevices, roaming out from their protective rock pile to forage for vegetation whenever the coast is clear. They are closely related to the Hoary Marmot native to the Northern Rockies, the common Gopher, Woodchuck (also known as the Groundhog) and the Prairie Dog. It is not clear whether Rock chucks are nicknamed “Yellow-Bellied Marmots” because of their coloration or because they will scurry back to the security of their rocky fortress at the slightest threat of danger.

A regional nickname given to them is "Whistle Pig" for the shrill barking sound they make.

Since they are vegetarians, rockchucks favor fresh garden vegetables and flowers over wild vegetation, which is probably why many people don’t like them around their yard. They can decimate a crop of cabbage, lettuce, summer squash, pansies or just about anything else you can grow in your garden. However, in a more natural setting, they will thrive on wild vegetation and leave humans alone.

If you browse the internet for information on rockchucks, you're likely to find grisly stories of them being used for target practice, or roasted whole, fur and all, on an outdoor grill. The recipe says you should cook them outdoors because of the stench, but it would seem to me that if you absolutely have to eat rockchuck, skin it first, so you eliminate the stench of burning fur.

Personally, I prefer to observe them alive and well. Those who don't abhor them as pests often adore them as cute and harmless creatures.

Mr. Dana Johnson - photographer, webmaster