higher risk of inbreeding and death from random events in meadows with fewer marmots, making migration essential to the survival of the species. Burrows can be found at elevations ranging from to ; they are most often found in the range of to . Burrows are more frequently located on south-facing slopes, which generally receive more precipitation, per year (mostly snow), and thus have more available flora. The home range of a family of marmots usually covers from half an acre to five acres (0.2–2 hectares). The Olympic marmot is well-adapted to its generally cold natural habitat, where there is snowfall almost every month of the year on the mountain slopes and barren grasslands. Ecology Feeding Olympic marmots eat meadow flora such as avalanche and glacier lilies, heather blossoms, subalpine lupine, mountain buckwheat, harebells, sedges, and mosses. They prefer green, tender, flowering plants over other sources of food, but roots are a large part of their diets in the early spring when other plants have not yet appeared. During May and June, they may resort to gnawing on trees for food. They also occasionally eat fruits and insects. Their water requirements are met from the juice in the vegetation they eat and dew on the plants' surfaces. When snowfall covers vegetation, marmots have a more carnivorous diet, consuming carrion encountered while digging for roots and possibly killing late hibernating chipmunks. At this time, they also obtain water from melted snow. Hibernating Olympic marmots do not keep food in their burrows; instead, they gain fat before hibernating and can double their body weight to survive eight months without eating. Predation The Olympic marmot's predators are mostly terrestrial mammals such as coyotes, cougars, and bobcats; however, it is also preyed on by avian raptors such as golden eagles. Black bears probably rarely prey on marmots, as evidenced by the fact that their presence close to colonies generally does not generate alarm calls unless the bear advances to within of the colony. The coyote is the primary predator and studies have shown that marmots make up approximately 20% of coyotes' diet during the summer months. During a study in the Olympic Mountains, 36 coyote droppings were collected and two of them contained marmot hairs. In common with all other marmots, Olympic marmots use the trill as an alarm call to alert other marmots to predators. Continuing alarm calls indicate that a predator is