Hoary Marmots of Montana By Marlene Affeld

The Hoary Marmot, largest of the North American sciurid rodents, is a fascinating, charismatic animal. Marmot population biology, their impact on the ecosystem, physiology and behavior is studied world wide. The only holiday in the United States to be named after an animal, is named for a marmot - Groundhog’s Day. Closely related to tree squirrels, prairie dogs and groundhogs, hoary marmots are the largest ground dwelling squirrels in the world.

Sociable, communicative and entertaining to observe, marmots often grow to the size of a large domestic house cat.

Although there are 14 marmot species worldwide, only two inhabit Montana - the hoary and the yellow-bellied marmot. Denning in rocky outcroppings, the hoary marmot is normally found in high alpine meadows and sub-alpine mountain slopes. Weighing up to 20 pounds, the hoary marmot is one of the largest rodent species in North America. The smaller yellow-bellied marmot builds dens at lower elevations and weighs about 10 pounds. In several parts of the world marmot meat is considered a prized delicacy and their fur is highly valued.

Marmots are normally found living in small family groups; one breeding male, multiple breeding females and their non-breeding offspring from previous years. A colony of 15 to 20 will live together in a system of burrows and hibernate together all winter. The range of a marmot colony is rather extensive and may cover several acres. The marmots roam freely and will cover most of their territory daily.

Marmot dens are usually found under large rocks or boulders which prevents a predator from digging them up and protects them from the elements. Marmot predators include the wolf, cougar, coyote, fox, owl and eagle.

Considered by many to be rat-like rodents, marmot colonies are often used for target practice, the carcasses left in the open to be devoured by the ravens. Similar to a prairie dog town, a marmot colony is destructive to a meadow and many ranchers attempt to eliminate the colony when the marmots intrude on private lands.

Marmot colonies are highly interactive and extremely vocal. Their trilling is an eerie sound. Early settlers called them “whistlers” because they emit a loud, piercing trill or whistle to alert the colony of danger. They seem to have several different alert signals, varying in pitch and intensity. “Heads Up - Here Comes A Bear” probably warrants the most attention. Marmots are an important food to both grizzly and black bears.

When they are not sunning themselves on lookout rocks, marmots are usually foraging for tasty vegetation, munching on lichen, leaves, flowers, roots, seeds and berries. A marmot's primary diet is vegetarian, however; they will occasionally snack on insects or road kill.

Relying on accumulated fat deposits, marmots hibernate through the hard cold of Montana winters. Depending on their location and the severity of the winter, marmots will hibernate from October through May.

Marmots normally have litters of three to five pups.

The marmots of Montana, and all other members of the genus Marmota, have thick, slightly curved claws. Equipped for digging, the claws are considerably heavier on the front feet than they are on the hind legs. Marmot palms are hairless with five pads, their smooth soles are also naked but have six pads.

Often described as “cute”, marmots have small, circular eyes and rounded short hairy ears. With their pelage, nature has provided perfect camouflage. The hoary marmots common name refers to its colorization which is an “icy” silver-gray. The front half of the marmot's back is normally black hair with white tips, the remainder of the back coat is dark brown. Cinnamon or brown heads tinged with a snow-white mustache give the marmot a comical expression.

Hoary and yellow-bellied marmots leave a lasting impression and are welcome addition to Montana’s wildlife heritage.

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A History Of Lincoln Part 1 By Duncan Seth-Smith

Lincoln has a number of major tourist attractions, the main one being that Lincoln is the capital of Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire is one the biggest counties in England and is a key shire county. Despite the impression that most people have Lincolnshire is far from flat. True, out towards the east coast and the Wash, the county is flat due to the land being reclaimed from the sea. However as you go inland towards Stamford and Grantham the county becomes underrating. The further north of the county you go the hillier it becomes. Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle are high on a hill overlooking the City of Lincoln.

To the north and North West of Lincoln you enter the famous Lincolnshire Wolds and the long hills and shallow valleys before eventually meeting the river Humber.

Back in Lincoln on the hill overlooking the old city is Lincoln Castle.

William the Conqueror's Castle & The Observatory Tower.

When William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at The Battle of Hastings on the 14 October 1066 he still faced resistance to his rule in the north of England. For a number of years William's position was very insecure and in order to project his influence over the people, he felt it necessary to construct a number of castles in the north and midlands of England. It was at this time that the new King built major castles at Warwick, Nottingham and York. Once in control of York, the Conqueror turned southwards and arrived at the Roman and Viking city of Lincoln.

When William reached Lincoln he found a Viking trading centre with a population of 8,000. The remains of the old Roman walled fortress located some 200 ft above the countryside to the south and west, proved a strategic position to construct a new castle. Also, Lincoln represented a vital crossroads of the following Roman routes, The Ermine Street, a major Roman road and very important north-south route connecting London and York.

The Fosse Way - another important Roman route connecting Lincoln with the city of Leicester and the south-west of England. The Valley of the River Trent - a major river giving access to the River Ouse, and thus the major city of York. The River Witham - a waterway that afforded access to both the Rivers Trent and the North Sea via The Wash. The Lincolnshire Wolds - an upland area to the northeast, which overlooks the Lincolnshire Marsh.

William saw how a castle here could guard several of the main strategic routes and form part of a network of strongholds of the Norman Kingdom, roughly the area of the country that is today referred to as the East Midlands. It could also form a center from which troops could be sent to repel Scandinavian landings anywhere on the coast from the Trent to the Welland.

The castle was built in the south-west corner of the upper walled town, the remainder of which was occupied by the town. The Doomsday Book entry for Lincoln records how 166 residences were knocked down to make way for the castle. Of the original 1164 residences, 600 will have been in the upper town.

Work on the new fortification was completed in 1068. It is probable that at first a wooden keep was constructed which was later replaced with a much stronger stone one. Lincoln castle has two motes. To the south, where the Roman wall stands on the edge of a steep slope, it was retained partially as a curtain wall and partially as a revetment retaining the motes. In the west, where the ground is more level, the Roman wall was buried within an earth rampart and extended upward to form the Norman castle wall.

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This Devil is Kind of Cute By John Parks

Down in Tasmania, beady little eyes watch you, eyes of a devil, the Tasmanian devil that is. Tasmania is the only known habitat for this little creature. Tasmania is an island separated from Australia by the Bass Strait (a channel running 80 –150 miles long). It’s a mountain island similar to Australia; its climate changes moderately. This is probably why the creatures have inhabited it for well over hundreds of years. This little guy is no bigger than the family pet, but not always as sweet and a tad bit more muscular. They possess a strong jaw and are black in color with some white spotting towards the backside. They have an odor that can rival a skunk when they feel pressured.

For a small guy, the little devil picks on large prey such as Lizards and Kangaroos. Those inhabitants of Tasmania like to hide up in the hills and are generally loners, but sometimes dine with others. They are excellent night hunters and they are known to hold fat in their tail and one can tell it by the thickness of their tail, if ill. Hunters and farmers protecting their farm animals are the main cause of their death of late, not to mention a fast spreading cancer that has aided in their demise. Their average life expectancy is about six years. Those that remain in Tasmania are part of what is considered to be the only meat-eating marsupials around today.

The mating season in Tasmania is generally in the spring. The female is most fertile when reaching about two years of age. The male devils battle for the right to be with the female, who usually chooses the victor. If the male is not careful the female will wonder off after mating, so one should keep his eye out on his prize.

The lucky female will give birth to about 30 tots. The young, like the males will battle for the mother’s pouch, as there is only room for about four at a time. With age the pouch will shrink, so some younglings have it tougher than others finding a place to feed. Once settled in the pouch they will nestle there for about 100 days, feeding from the female’s nipple.

The devil, which has become a symbol for Australia, Tasmania to be exact, is honored in many different ways. National Parks use the devil as symbols as well have some sports teams and it’s even imprinted on an Australian coin. Literature and film have taken a liking to the furry imp; as well as it is the subject to many tours in Tasmania, as well as Australia. Perhaps Tasmania was put on the map with the creation of Warner Brother’s Tasmanian devil, Taz, a hot-tempered little bugger. He was so popular that in the early 90’s he received his own TV show called “Taz-Mania”. Not bad for a little critter found in the land down under, more commonly known as Australia, or to the devil, Tasmania.

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A History of Lincoln Part 2 By Naz Daud

The raising of the siege of The Castle of Mont Sorel and Lincoln Castle.

The army of Louis and the barons of England arrived at Dunstable, and there spent the night. In the morning it marched northward, hastening to the relief of the castle of Mont Sorel, Earl Ralph of Chester and the others who were with him besieging it, were informed of this by their scouts, and retreated to the castle of Nottingham, where they determined to watch the progress of their approaching enemies.

When the barons then arrived at the castle of Mont Sorel, after pillaging in their usual custom all the cemeteries and churches on their march, it was determined to march to Lincoln, where Gilbert de Gant and other barons had carried on a long siege without success.

They marched through the valley of Belvoir, and there everything fell into the hands of these robbers, because the soldiers of the French kingdom were the refuse and scum of that country who left nothing untouched. Their poverty and wretchedness was so great, that they had not enough clothing to cover their nakedness. At length they arrived at Lincoln, and the barons then made fierce assaults on the castle, whilst the besieged returned fire with missiles and stones and deadly weapons.

The king of England assembled an army to raise the siege of the castle of Lincoln.

Whilst these events were passing here, William Marshall, the guardian of the king and kingdom, by the advice of Walo the legate, Peter bishop of Winchester, and others by whose counsels the business of the kingdom was arranged, persuaded the castellans belonging to the king.

He also persuaded the knights who were in charge of castles in different parts of the kingdom, ordering them, on the command of the king, to assemble at Newark on the second day in Whitsun week, to proceed together to raise the siege of Lincoln castle.

They had a desire to engage with the excommunicated French, and also to fight for their country. They arrived at the time and place pre-arranged, with the legate himself and many other prelates of the kingdom. With horses and soldiers, to assail with prayers as well as arms, these enemies of their king, and rebels against their lord the pope, it appeared to them they had a just cause of war, especially as he was innocent, and a stranger to sin.

When they were all assembled together, there were four hundred knights, nearly two hundred and fifty crossbow men, and an innumerable host of followers and horsemen, who could on emergency fulfil the duties of soldiers. The chiefs of this army were William Marshall, William his son, Peter Bishop of Winchester, a man well skilled in warfare, Ralph Earl of Chester, William Earl of Salisbury, E. William Earl of Ferrars and William Earl of Albemarle

There were also there the barons, William D' Albiney, John Marshall, William de Cantelo, William his son, the renowned Falkes de Breaute, Thomas Basset, Robert de Viport, Brian de L'Isle, Geoffrey de Lucy, and Philip d'Albiney, with many castellans of experience in war.

They stayed three days at Newark, to refresh the horses and men, and in the meantime they went to confession asking for the Lord’s protection against the attacks of their enemies. All of them were prepared for extremities, and were determined to conquer or die in the cause of right.

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